country, and accordingly a small sum of money was ^'oted to fit up a 

 temporary laboratory on the town lands of Pretoria. 



At that time there was at Daspoort (a suburb of Pretoria) a wood 

 and iron shed which had been erected as an outcome of a resolution of 

 the Inter-Colonial Rinderpest Congress held at Vryburg in the year 1896. 

 Delegates from the various States and Colonies of South Africa met at 

 this congress to discuss the position with regard to rinderpest, and the 

 best measures to be taken to combat the disease in future. One of the 

 resolutions passed was to the effect that the exportation of hides should 

 be permitted only if they were first subjected to proper disinfection, and 

 it was for this purpose that the building in question had been erected. 

 It had, however, never been used, and the suggestion was now made to 

 utilise it with such alterations and additions as might be necessary as a 

 veterinary research laboratory. The scheme received the hearty support 

 of the landdrost, Mr. C. E. Schutte, and eventually a new three-room 

 building of wood and iron, hned with brick, was erected for a laboratory, 

 the existing building being turned into a stable, and after a few small 

 additions made with material and fittings taken from the temporary 

 Rinderpest Field Station, the buildings were ready for occupation by 

 the middle of 1898 ; the equipment, however, was sadly deficient as for 

 the present the best had to be made of such as was available from the 

 temporary Rinderpest Laboratory which was now no longer needed. 



The first undertaking in the new laboratory was the preparation of 

 calf vaccine lymph. A serious outbreak of small-pox had occurred in 

 the Transvaal, and the necessity of providing a large supply of lymph 

 for vaccination of Kaffirs prevented much useful research work being 

 undertaken, and the war which broke out in the later part of the year 

 1899 temporarily stopped further work. 



After the occupation of Pretoria by the British troops in 1900 the 

 laboratory premises were made use of by the military authorities as a 

 stable for the horses of the Transvaal Constabulary, and it was not until 

 the following year when rinderpest had again broken out in Basutoland 

 and the Orange River Colony that thoughts were again turned to a 

 veterinary laboratory. 



Though the outbreak of rinderpest had not occurred in the Trans- 

 vaal, it was feared that due to the movement of troops in the field, there 

 was very httle doubt that it would soon spread into this Colony, and on 

 the recommendation of Dr. George Turner, at that time Medical Officer 

 of Health for the Transvaal, it was decided to start a rinderpest station 

 at Daspoort, so that the laboratory could be utilised in connection with 

 the preparation of serum. Dr. Turner took charge of this station, at 

 which considerable additions had to be made. A yard 200 ft. square 

 enclosed by a galvanised iron fence was made, in which the cattle could 

 be tethered to poles- and on two sides open sheds were erected, an 



