38 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



the Survey Board. Under this scheme, a university degree course 

 in surveying can now be taken and the candidate receives an edu- 

 cation and training in the general principles of survey in all its 

 branches, analogous to that provided for other professions. 



In the British Colonies there is a certain proportion of army- 

 trained and Ordnance Survey-trained men, with traditions of 

 topographical mapping, and between 1920 and the recent eco- 

 nomic depression a number of surveyors trained at British Universi- 

 ties entered the colonial departments. Owing, however, to the 

 fact that survey departments are expected to produce revenue by 

 charging fees for surveys of property boundaries, some of the per- 

 sonnel who subsequently come to hold responsible positions, gain 

 little experience of work other than that in property survey. 



Some authorities hold that in many areas in Africa survey work 

 can best be carried out by officers and men seconded from the 

 Royal Engineers, the reason being mainly that geodetic survey 

 is best handled by a central organization. It is true that this 

 method costs less than the maintenance of large local survey de- 

 partments, but if, as usual, an officer has only a short term of duty 

 in Africa, part of that time must be spent in learning the local 

 difficulties and these must be learned afresh by his successor. Offi- 

 cials in Africa have said that this lack of continuity has hampered 

 the progress of mapping in many areas. Particularly on the West 

 Coast it has been asserted that the work done by Royal Engineer 

 officers is generally no more accurate, though more expensive, 

 than that done by civilian personnel. This does not apply to self- 

 contained pieces of work such as a boundary survey or a portion 

 of a geodetic arc (see below), but for ordinary topographical work 

 there are advantages in the employment of personnel who have to 

 live where their maps are constantly under review and criticism. 



While, therefore, for maintenance it is probably best to employ 

 men whose careers lie in Africa, for first production there are ad- 

 vantages to be gained by making use of military personnel in some 

 colonies, at any rate until such time as local cadres can be built up. 

 The justification for using army personnel is that the experience 

 is valuable and that the army is willing to pay for it to the extent 

 of bearing the cost of part, or all, of the salaries of the officers if 

 necessary. 



