June, 1950]
F.
C.
MINETT
71
in the area. An account of this disease is given in the 1943-44 report. To avoid
this, the practice was to move the stock to other areas, but this in advertently proved
fruitless moreover, interfered with grazing and led to excessive mortality
especially in ram lambs. There was also lack of shelter, for animals and
attendants. The young stock have suffered from pneumonia and from lousiness
and the adults from myiasis, while in 1943 there was a severe outbreak of foot and
mouth disease,
4. Hissar
Bikaneri sheep have been bred at the Punjab Government Farm since 1928
and the object of the scheme (under the supervision of Mr. P. N. Nanda) has been
to study methods of breed improvement, and to gain some detailed information on
feeding and pasturage, breeding and general management. The flocks are accom-
modated in thorn pens, with some shelter. The best mating season was found to
be March to May, to produce lambs at the close of the monsoon, when ewes have plenty
of milk. The rams get some concentrate feeding, but the ewes ordinarily subsist
on grazing—on irrigated stubbles or fallow, or on barani land. Experiments were
conducted on grazing under these different conditions. Shearing is done in early
April and October, while dipping is unnecessary in places like Hissar where the climate
is hot and dry and skin parasitism is unimportant.
Progress of the scheme has been very much at the mercy of the weather. The
normal rainfall is 17.67 in., but failures leading to famine conditions have been common.
Thus, the summer rains failed in four successive seasons, 1938-41, and were scanty
in 1943. In 1944 they were normal in amount and distribution. The winter rains
failed in three successive seasons, 1941-44. In 1942 and 1945, the summer rains
were in excess and this interfered with grazing. Also in 1942, the heavy rains
coincided with lambing, and not only was grazing stopped for days together but
there was also much myiasis. The result was loss of milk, especially with young
ewes, and mortality in the lambs or prolonged growth setback in the survivors.
As regards disease, there has been some mortality in lambs from pneumonia
and trouble from an obscure disease labelled 'encephalo-myelitis', affecting sheep
below three years of age. Foot and mouth disease was severe in the breeding
seasons of 1944-45. Some ewes aborted every year. There was little parasitism.
As regards the goat flock at Hissar, the object is to establish a pure Beetal
flock. In some years there has been moderate trouble from disease. Thus, there
has been goat-pox in 1945-46, mastitis—sometimes gangrenous in type—, and
some tuberculosis, which was controlled by tuberculin-t esting and segregation of
reactors. There was also at times a high mortality in young kids from various
causes.
5. Monghyr
It is situated near Gaya (Bihar). For the first few months the flock was sta-
tioned at Gaya, but was moved to Monghyr in November 1942. The intention is
to breed a white sheep with superior wool. The farm is at the foot of a hill on an
area of just over 200 acres, though only 80 to 90 acres are available for the sheep.
As this land is bare from January to June, some concentrates have to be fed during
A 2