312 SCIENCE IN AFRICA 



pose: African Explosives and Industries, Ltd. have done much 

 work on cereals and insecticides in addition to that on pastures 

 mentioned in Chapter VI, and the research work of the Zebe- 

 delia Citrus Estates may also be mentioned. 



On the side of animal industry, the Division of Veterinary Ser- 

 vices, under Dr. P.J. du Toit, has its centre at the Onderstepoort 

 Laboratory near Pretoria, one of the best equipped veterinary 

 laboratories in the Empire. This was established in 1902 and grew 

 to its present eminence largely through the work of the late Sir 

 Arnold Theiler. Recognition of the valuable work done in con- 

 trolling the numerous stock diseases which spread throughout 

 South Africa after the Boer War has attracted liberal endowments 

 to this institution, and at present the annual allocation stands at 

 over /^i 00,000 a year. The work of the division is now being en- 

 larged by the addition of a cold storage section which is being built 

 at Onderstepoort for studies in the preservation of meat, eggs, and 

 dairy produce. The research and travelling branches of the veteri- 

 nary service, which were formerly under separate direction, have 

 been amalgamated for purposes of closer co-operation. The 

 present staff of the division numbers about two hundred veterinary 

 workers, of whom some fifty-five are devoted to technical research 

 at Onderstepoort. The training of veterinarians is also carried out 

 at the laboratorv. 



In connexion with the industry of fruit and other perishable foods 

 the Department of Agriculture and Forestry maintains at Cape- 

 town a Low Temperature Research Laboratory under Mr. Rees 

 Davies. This was established in 1926 and has an Entomological 

 Laboratory attached for the study of insect pests of dried fruit, 

 beans, grain, etc. It is now being extended by the addition of a. 

 Food Products Research Laboratory for work on the preservation! 

 of food by canning, desiccation, etc. Refrigeration, though suitable: 

 for the export trade, cannot be used adequately for retail distribu- 

 tion to sparsely populated districts, and hence canning and desic- 

 cation are generally more applicable to the internal markets of 

 Africa. The low temperature research laboratory provides 

 facilities for the fisheries division to investigate the preservation 

 and transport offish. In addition to providing research facilities,, 

 the department of agriculture and forestry exercises control over 



