Browsing by Author "Barnard, W. S."

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    Darwin at the Cape : history of science
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2004) Barnard, W. S.
    Of the thirteen ports where HMS Beagle called on its homeward voyage from South America to England, it stayed longer at Simon's Bay (31 May - 18 June 1836) than anywhere else except for the Galapagos Islands. Yet Charles Robert Darwin, the 27-year-old naturalist on board, practically ignored the Cape in his subsequent publications and many Darwin scholars hardly mention the visit. This silence raises two questions: why did Darwin have so little to say about the Cape, and did the visit in any way contribute to his intellectual development? There are two possible answers. After four and a half years of voyaging, Darwin was stale and found the Cape environment well-studied but uninspiring. At the Cape, secondly, Darwin met Sir John Herschel, the leading British scientist of the day, then cataloguing southern hemisphere stars. Herschel probably directed him to granite outcrops in the Cape Town hinterland, about which Darwin made notes but published little. More importantly, Herschel, through an earlier book and in discussion, made Darwin aware of his ideal of scientific explanation: to look for one comprehensive 'true cause' which could be transferred from one set of phenomena to another. Herschel also showed Darwin his garden of Cape fynbos bulbs, which led the former to speculate on 'the origination of fresh species' as a natural process. For Darwin the Cape must have been an important place of encounter with ideas, some already half formed in his mind and others new, which he developed fully in the years to come.
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    Die streekpatrone van Suidwes-Afrika
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1964) Barnard, W. S.; Nel, A.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography & Environmental Studies.
    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hoewel Suidwes-Afrika in terme van oppervlakte ‘n groot land is, toon dit nie dieselfde regionale verskeidenheid as by die Republiek van Suid-Afrika nie. Eerder as ‘n land van kontraste, is dit ‘n land van geleidelike oorgange. Regionale teenstellings is daar wel, maar die onderlinge begrensinge tussen streek en streek is selde skerp. Omdat die natuur dus self geen duidelike streekbegrensingspatroon kon daarstel nie, sou ‘n analitiese bespreking van streekpatrone uit ‘n metodiese oogpunt hoogs twyfelagtig wees. Die bree benadering in hierdie werk is dus sistematies, m.a.w. landvorme, klimaat, natuurlike hulpbronne, bevolking, landbou, mynbou, industries en verkeer word afsonderlik behandel. Binne hierdie afdelings word dan gepoog om presiese streeksbegrensinge vas te lê. Dit word feitlik altyd op ‘n sintetiese wyse gedoen. Die klimaatselemente word byvoorbeeld eers bespreek en daarna word die klimaatstreke afgebaken. Die verskillende bedryfsvertakkinge van landbou en mynbou word ook eers behandel, waarna die kriteria, met behulp waarvan streeksindelings gemaak kan word, duidelik na vore tree, sodat grondbenutting- en mynboustreke in die laaste hoofstuk- ge= kombineer word ten einde ekonomies-geografiese streke te verkry. Slegs in die geval van reliëfstreke is analities te werk gegaan, want landvorme kan slleen regionaal op ‘n doeltreffende wyse gesistematiseer word. Verder is daar ook deurgaans, dwarsdeur .die werk, gepoog om die perspektief op die Gebied as geheel te stel. Skrywer het die heel eerste keer in 1958 met Suidwes-Afrika kennis gemaak, toe hy vanaf Julie tot Oktober daardie jaar stof vir ‘n M.A.-verhandeling oor Staatkundig-geografiese Aspekte van Suidwes-Afrika versamel het. Dié werk is aan die einde van 1959 afgehandel. Hoewel navorsing vir die huidige onderwerp reeds in Januarie 1961 ‘n aanvang geneem het, is die meeste van die veldwerk tussen vanaf Januarie tot Junie, en in November en Desember 1962 gedoen. Waar enigsins moontlik is probeer om feite en statistieke tot aan die einde van 1963 op datum te bring, maar in hoofsaak bied hierdie werk, veral wat die ekonomies-geografiese hoofstukke betref ‘n beeld van toestande soos dit in 1962 was. Wat landbou betref, was hierdie jaar, vanwee droogte en bek-en-klouseer, ongelukkig nie ‘n goeie verteenwoordigende jaar nie.