8
ew worse surra-zones than between Darya Khan and Dera Ismail Khan.
Twenty of them (Supply and Transport) arrived actually in Bannu before 30th
September and four of the cases that I found were out of these twenty. The
new purchases of the 31st Punjabis camels arrived much later and I did not find
any case of surra in those that I examined.
56. Camels should not be purchased between 1st July and 31st October,
because at this time so many surra camels are in good condition. The micros
cope was not available for purchasing I am told. The Veterinary Dafadars
however took the temperatures of the camels as a safeguard but were probably
not then aware of the enormous differences between the morning and evening
temperatures of healthy camels ; 100 and 101° F. are normal for a camel in the
evening but in the early part of the day these temperatures indicate fever. The
purchases had to be made at a low price which is doubtless the reason why so
many Mianwali camels were purchased ; they are very inferior. That ordinary
care was taken in purchasing is shown by the fact that there are few cases
of ordinary unsoundnesses other than surra amongst the new purchases.
57. Three cheap microscopes are wanted here instead of the one expensive
one which is now in use.
58. Many of the Supply and Transport camels were in very poor condition
as compared with the regimental camels ; this is not entirely due to surra but to
the fact that the Commissariat camels get the 2/3rds white bhusa ration whereas
the regimental ones get a full ration of missa bhusa.
59. Filariasis was only found in " old " camels, and not in the new purchases
which I tested.
60. The total number of surra cases proved during the year in Bannu camels
was 18.
61. Marian (Guides Infantry).—I saw these camels on the 7th January
1909 and with the exception of the 10 new purchases, the camels were in miserable
condition. They are said to have suffered privations at the time of the frontier
expedition and have had no chance of getting back their conditon owing to the
⅔ rds white bhusa ration which they do not eat and which is unaccompanied by
grazing. Examination of a number of them did not reveal any surra although
one case had been found previously; the Veterinary Dafadar has diagnosed
half the casualties of the year as tuberculosis, but he was unfortunately absent
at the time of my visit, and I was unable to get any reliable information as to
whether this diagnosis was the result of post-mortems or not; as it is unusual
to have such a high percentage of tuberculosis in camels I am endeavouring to
get his report on the subject, as measures could be taken to prevent losses if the
cases are really tubercular.
62. The camels appeared to be starved from want of proper food and a
change in the bhusa ration was advised and green taramira was recommended to
restore their lost condition.
63. The Veterinary Dafadar can hardly do himself justice with such a small
allowance of drugs for the camels.
64. Kohat and Hangu.—The camels of 67th Punjabis have had for a period
of 2 years and three months a death rate per annum of only 7 per cent. I have
visited them now two years running and they were on both occasions in uniformly
good condition. Surra does not spread amongst them under the conditions in
which they live in the surra season during which they graze at Kote.
65. The 58th Rifles have had a high mortality rate for 1907 and 1908.
Altogether 11 cases of surra have been diagnosed amongst these camels in the 15
months ending 31st March 1909. In the surra season of 1907 their camels
as stated in my last report grazed around Kohat, but in 1908 they grazed at
Kote in the surra season. All the cases diagnosed in 1908 were either (2)
discovered before the surra season or (ii) discovered in camels transferred to
this regiment after the surra season from Hangu; there is therefore no case for