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ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY IN MOQAMBIQUE, AND ITS 



PliOBLExMS. 



BY 



C. B. Hardenberg, ]\I.A., 

 Entomologist, Agricultural Department, Province of Mozambique. 



Bead July 13, 1922. 



Visitors to and travellers through this country (]\Iogambique) 

 cannot help being impressed by its great agricultural possibihties. 

 There is no doubt that in our soil and climate we have resources 

 which should malie this Province one of the richest in South 

 Africa. A fertile, deep soil, a congenial climate, and a harbour 

 for export — second to none in the whole continent — certainly are 

 three assets of which we may well be proud, and which will put 

 this Province in the foremost rank of agricultural producers and 

 inake it one of the most prosperous and highly prized of the 

 possessions of the Mother Country. 



At present we are only at the beginning of our agricultural 

 development. Whilst a very good start has been made, there arc 

 still tremendously vast areas which are practically untouched or 

 even unexplored. But gradually we see large tracts being 

 developed with a view towards export of agricultural produce in 

 its widest sense. 



The Government, being fully aware of the potential wealth 

 which this country possesses in its agricultural development, has 

 for a long time maintained a Department of Agricidture, the duty 

 of which is to advise agriculturists on all matters pertaining to 

 their vocation. iMistakes are costly in all lines of business, espe- 

 cially so in agriculture on a large scale, where a mistake may 

 mean the loss of an entire year's profit, or where it may endanger 

 even the whole future of an enterprise. 



It is, therefore, evident that in a country like this a well- 

 equipped, well-staffed Agricultural Department, with fully 

 qualified experts at the head of the various divisions, is a most 

 valuable institution; in fact, it may well be called the backbone 

 of the country's future prosperity. 



Now, agriculture comprises so many subjects that it is impos- 

 sible for one person to acquire expert knowledge of all its 

 branches, and the department is, therefore, divided into several 

 sections, each confining itself to one particular branch of the 

 science. One of these sections is that of entomology. 



