136 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



gardens at Hann near Dakar has devoted some attention to the 

 local soils. 



In French Equatorial Africa little research work has been done in 

 agricultural subjects, but the active geological survey may be 

 expected to produce valuable results on soils. French Somaliland is 

 too small to warrant a special agricultural service or chemical 

 work, but various geological expeditions there have made some 

 observations on the soils. Results of these studies have not ap- 

 peared in any form available to the public. 



BELGIAJ^ 



In the Belgian Congo the importance of this subject is realized, 

 and the Institut National d' Agronomic Coloniale is proposing to start 

 a reconnaissance soil survey. Professor L. Baeyens, head of the 

 Pedological Institute of Louvain University, spent some months in 

 1934-5 in the Congo for this purpose, and visited the soil chemists 

 at Amani, Nairobi and Kampala. For the Katanga region an 

 essential part of the scientific programme of the Comite Special is 

 the production of maps of topography, geology, soils, vegetation, 

 etc. (as mentioned in previous chapters). The soil maps already 

 published in the Atlas du Katanga (1931) are probably as complete 

 as those for any other part of Africa. It appears that the maps 

 have been prepared largely from the superficial appearance of the 

 soils, but work on analyses is progressing, and the details will be 

 filled in later. 



DETERIORATION AND EROSION OF SOILS 



In the development of virgin country the problem of soil 

 deterioration is reflected in every activity connected with agricul- 

 ture; it is therefore, one of the main themes running through this 

 volume. Nearly every science has some bearing on the subject. It 

 has been pointed out that in many parts of Africa knowledge of the 

 soil itself is still deficient. Then the effects of climate, of water- 

 supplies, of plants and animals, and above all, of human activities 

 must be considered. In southern Africa, as a whole, the stock- 

 bearing capacity of the land has been progressively reduced over 

 a long period of years, and many native reserves have been devas- 



