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common, from July to October even if the year is a poor one
as regards rainfall; if there has been no rain, keep them away
as long as possible during that season. If in September and
October the desert-grazing is poor, it is better that the camels
should stay on it than to bring them back to the river; they
will soon recover any loss of condition.
(2) Keep male camels away in the desert for a corresponding period,
whenever possible. If they must return to work sooner, avoid
the worst haunts of " dhang " until the flies have died out,
working at night, and grazing in the Kir and Khabar jungles
in the day, not in the lei and babur. Owners of one or two
camels only should not let any other camels come near them
from July to October.
(3) Khara breeding-herds should be able to live in the Khara at least
four months, July to October inclusive ; more if possible.
(4) All camelmen should watch for sickness much more carefully
than they do. Before June, all last year's surra camels still
surviving should be known and segregated in a separate herd ;
from July to October, every grazier should note the slightest
tendency of any camel to go "off his grazing" and separate
him from the rest of the camels until it can be decided whether
he has got surra or not. The most characteristic sign of surra
in its early stages is irregular appetite on the grazing-ground.
(5) Surra is by far the most common cause of abortion in dachis ; the
act of abortion often acts beneficially to the dachi and she may
begin to recover her condition; nevertheless she should be kept
in the surra herd away from the healthy for two more seasons
because she suffers from low fever whilst retaining good condi-
tion, since she is not subjected to work, lactation or pregnancy.
(6) Any camel with surra must be kept in the surra segregation herd
for three seasons, including that of the first onset of sickness.
The segregation season should be July to November, or better
still, March to November. Co-operation between camel-owners
would make the segregation of surra camels a very easy matter.
Many dachis and bachas recover after three years of sickness,
and a fair proportion of male camels also, provided they are not
worked during the time.
(7) Treatment of Camel-Surra by the methods given in this report
might occasionally be possible in Sind, particularly in riding
camels, but as a rule the camel-man would not, I am sure,
bring his camel on the right days. Otherwise, medioine should
not be dispensed for Camel-Surra, as it gives the owner a false
idea of security if his camel begins to get his strength back by
the rest and good food which accompany it, and during the
long process of spontaneous recovery the camel may appear
" cured" and will no longer be regarded as a danger to others.
(8) In Sind the police-camels and horses sustain rather heavy losses
from surra. I think it would be a good plan always to keep
the horses and camels as far apart as possible from July to
November inclusive, as the disease is so common in camels.
The camel-sowars should be alert to see and report any sign of
sickness, because it is often difficult to note the early signs of
surra if the camel is ration-fed.
38. Other camel diseases in Sind.—Most of the common diseases of the
Punjab camel are also met with in Sind, but I saw no " jhooling". In riding-
camels " wah" (shivering) is very common, and so are torn nostrils, the
latter occurring to such an extent as to suggest that some sort of bridle as is