AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



THIS book is one of a series of reports prepared in connection 

 with the African Research Survey.^ The problems of Africa, 

 as they present themselves to those whose concern is with the 

 development of the continent, are discussed in An African Survey. 

 The purpose of this volume is to summarize the present position 

 of studies in the various sciences which have a bearing on African 

 conditions. As far as possible the more important work up to 

 1936 has been mentioned; in the sections dealing with medical 

 research, however, it has not been possible to give a complete 

 account of work done after 1934. 



As a zoologist by profession and acquainted at first hand with 

 African research only in connection with biology and the fisheries 

 of the great lakes, I can offer no authoritative opinions on most 

 of the subjects discussed. Accordingly, I am indebted to those 

 authorities whose names are listed on pages 615 to 625, with a 

 note of the chapters in which their help has been specially valu- 

 able. I should like to express my thanks for the generous way in 

 which they have placed their time and experience at my disposal. 

 At the same time, I do not wish by the mention of any individual, 

 institution or government department in this list of acknowledge- 

 ments to engage their responsibility for opinions expressed or the 

 accuracy of any statement made. 



I had the advantage of joining Lord Hailey, the Director of the 

 African Research Survey, for the last part of his tour through 

 Africa in 1935-6, and of travelling with him through Nigeria, 

 Dahomey, Togoland, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, 

 Senegal, and the French Sudan. Previous work in connection 

 with the great lakes had given me some knowledge of East Africa. 



As many of the subjects dealt with in this volume are still 



* See An African Survey, Oxford, 1 938. 



