NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
330 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.
cows is 637 lb. milk more than that of the Sindhis, viz., 4,068 lb. as against
3,431 lb. The daily average for 19 cows is 14 lb. as against 12 lb. for the Sindhis.
If the daily average yield from date of first calving to date of last calving is taken,
we find that the F. 2 cows average 10.5 lb. as against 7.2 lb. of the Sindhis, an
increase of 3.3 lb. per day per cow. Four cows have yielded over 6,000 lb. milk in
a lactation and 5 between 5,000 and 6,000 lb. milk. Cow No. 17 is the best yielder
in this herd, in 4 lactations she has averaged 6,773 lb. milk with a daily average of
18.4 lb., her highest lactation being 8,380 lb. with a daily average of 18.1 lb. Cow
No. 84 in 6 lactations has averaged 4,920 lb. with a daily average, of 16.7 lb.
Nine cows out of 19 have yielded over 5,000 lb. milk and 14 have exceeded the
average yield of the Sindhis.
F. 3 Cows.
These animals have not reached their maximum. Taking the whole herd of 11
cows, their average yield is greater than that of the Sindhis by about 200 lb. but
when poor milkers are eliminated, the. average yield per lactation for 9 cows is
4,151 lb. This is slightly better than the F.2 herd and is 720 lb. more than that of
the Sindhis, the daily average being 13.3 as against 12 lb. for the Sindhis and the
daily average yield from date of first calving to date of last calving being 10.4 lb.
against 7.2 lb., an increase of 3.2 lb. per day. Two cows have yielded over 6,000 lb.
milk in a lactation and 6 cows out of the 9 have exceeded the average yield of the
Sindhis. The best milker in this herd is cow No. 101. In 5 lactations she has
averaged 5,702 lb. milk with a daily average of 15.2 lb., her highest yield being
6,825 lb. with a daily average of 15.3 lb. Cow No. 253 gave 6,252 lb., with a daily
average of 19.7 lb. in her second lactation. She has given 4,333 lb. milk with a daily
average of 20.9 lb. in her present lactation and is still in milk.
F. 4 Cows.
There are only two cows in milk. Cow No. 274 has given 4,108 lb. in her first
lactation with a daily average of 10.8 lb. She was dry for 82 days and has calved
again and is giving. 20 lb. milk per day. The other cow No. 289 has. yielded
3,009 lb. with a daily average of 12.8 lb. and is still in milk.
Dry periods.
Fifteen Sindhi cows were dry on the average for 186 days. The F.1 herd (23
cows) were dry for 83 days, the F.2 (19 cows) for 97 days and F.3 cows (9 cows)
for 94 days. This is omitting cases of abnormal periods in the case of one or two
cows. There is a considerable difference here, the Sindhi cows are dry on the
average for 3 months and 2 days more than the F.3. herd.
PLATE XXX.
1. AYRSHIRE-SINDHI COW No. 16. F 2 GENERATION.
(DAUGHTER OF COW No. 1.)
2. AYRSHIRE-SINDHI COW No. 101. F 3 GENERATION.
(GRAND-DAUGHTER OF COW No. 1.)
PLATE XXXI.
AYRSHIRE-SANEWAL COW No. 289. F
4 GENERATION.
CROSS-BREEDING FOR MILK
381
Weights.
F.1 calves suckle their dams and grow at a quicker rate into bigger animals.
F.2 and. F.3 calves are handfed, consequently they do not grow so quickly, it is
difficult to supervise the proper feeding of these animals, with milk at the proper
temperature and stomach troubles are frequent.
The average weights of calves at birth are:—
F.1 . .
F.2
F.3
F.4
F.5 (2) .
Generation
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
Bull calves
lb.
52
59
54
49
. .
Heifer
calves
lb.
51
49
46
48
48½
For cows over 4 years of age the average weights and heights are :—
Generation
F.l
F.2........
F.3........
F.4(2cows)
Weight
lb.
859
750
701
755
Height at
withers
Inches.
47½
46½
45
43½
Girth
Inches.
67½
65
63½
61
Both height and girth are decreasing in each generation and the animals
appear to be reverting more towards the size of the Sindhi dam. The highest
weight for a F. 1 cow is 952 lb. and the lowest weight is 776 lb., the largest cow
standing 51 inches and the smallest 45 inches. In F. 2 cows the heaviest cow is
894 lb. and the smallest is 672 lb., the heights being 51 inches and 44 inches. In
F.3 the heaviest cow is 796 lb, and the smallest 567 lb., the heights being 47½ inches
and 43 ½ inches.
C 2
332 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.
When the calves of these F. 2 and F. 3 go onto ordinary rations from milk
ration, they appear to fall away for a few months and after a year old they begin
to pull up again, but they do not as a whole grow or look so well as the Sindhi
heifers at the same age. In many cases the coats of calves are rough looking and
they have tight skins but these improve as the animals grow. Ringworm has been
very bad at Hosur for the last 4 or 5 years and animals attacked with this disease
become run down and it takes a long time to get them back into condition again.
These half-bred calves have not been pampered, they have been fed on the same
fines with the country calves and young stock, and if they could not survive they
have had to go under.
Adult cows on the whole look well, they are not too big and are about the
proper size for a small dairyman. The bulls are disappointing, the chief fault in
the F.2 and F.3 animals is that they are weak in their hind legs, when viewed from
the rear, their hocks almost touch one another, the forepart of the bull is generally
good, a large strong neck with a good chest capacity, although in some cases some
of the bulls appear to fall away behind the shoulder. Almost all cross-bred bulls
are very quick and good at service.
Colour.
The colours of each generation are generally as follows:—
F.1 are black, dark-brown, black and white and occasionally brown and
white and brindle.
In the F.2 the animals are mostly reds, light brown and red and white.
In F.3 and F.4, light red, red and white with occasional fawns and black
and white. Most of them have smooth coats when adults.
Disease resistance.
From my experience in the last 12 years, I find that the half-bred stands up to
disease such as foot-and-mouth disease, just as well as the country animal.
Amongst the country cows there have been worse and longer cases than amongst
the half-breds. Regarding rinderpest, I do not think there is much to fear
provided the animals are regularly inoculated as calves and done again at the age
of 3 years by the S. S. method. Some of the cross-bred calves have died from
rinderpest reaction, others have been used as controls and have survived. As
calves, the animals appear to suffer from stomach trouble much more than the
suckling calves. In my opinion, this is chiefly due to hand-feeding. In most
CROSS-BREEDING FOR MILK
333
western countries, a stockman or labourer takes a pride and interest in all his
animals but this class of trained labour is not available in India at present and it
is hoped that with better training and more supervision, this standard can be
obtained in the near future.
Regarding udder trouble, the cross-bred is not so liable to develop this as pure
Sindhis,
Two tests for T. B. have been conducted on the half-bred herd and in both
cases they have been declared free.
One drawback amongst the half-bred is that many cows do not conceive at the
first or second covering but with all this, their dry periods are much shorter than
the country cows.
BREEDING BACK TO THE COUNTRY WITH COUNTRY SIRES.
Quarter-bred Ayrshire Sindhi and Sahiwal.-This experiment has only been
conducted during the last 6 years at Hosur and a good number of cows
have been sold. A Sindhi bull has been used on cross-bred cows and the
particulars of the cows at present on the farm are given in the list at the end. Two
out of these 5 cows have yielded over 5,000 lb. milk. Cow No. 261 has given over
5,000 lb. milk in her 2 lactations with daily averages of 16.1 and 18.5.
In 1930, this Government purchased 16 cows and heifers from Pusa (¼ Ayrshire,
¾ Sahiwal). The particulars of the best cows are given in the list at the end. It is
seen that one cow No. 216 CL has given 8,570 lb. with a daily average of 19.9 lb.
and in her present lactation has given 11,532.7 lb. with a daily average of 27.8 lb.
and is still in milk. This yield is much better than any of the F. 1 half-bred cows.
Cow No. 250 M.T. has given 5,495 lb. with a daily average of 15.1 lb. Cow
No. 255 RJ. has given in her present lactation 8,169 lb. milk with a daily average of
17.1 lb. and is still in milk.
CONCLUSIONS.
In an experiment of this kind a very large number of animals are necessary,
at least 200 F. 2 cows are necessary in order that a good selection can be made.
Possibly 25 to 30 per cent. of the cows would be retained and the same applies to
future generations. In this experiment the original numbers, I have worked on,
have been very small and only very poor milkers and bad breeders have been
discarded, therefore drastic discarding was impossible. There are two cows out of
9 in F. 3, which have gone over 6,000 lb. in a lactation, another animal would have
reached this figure but unfortunately it died.
334 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.
The bulls are disappointing, only a few of them can be used for breeding
purposes. Some fall away behind the shoulders and others are very light behind
and have weak hind legs.
The cross-bred bull has hardly any hump and in most cases no hump at all,
the ryot naturally objects to these for work cattle for this reason, although on
Government farms, they have been found to be quite satisfactory at work. They
work well at Hosur and Coimbatore but it is very doubtful if they would suit for
work purposes in the hot districts. I am afraid they could not stand the heat.
Therefore it is better that they are sold away at 10 days old and only the best
kept and reared for future breeding.
The cross-bred cow and heifer cannot stand up to the semi-starvation rations
of this country and keep fit like the indigenous breeds. They are alright so long as
they are fed and housed well and a good milker pays for this. Cross-breds seen in
the districts in the hands of landowners have not the same bloom or appearance as
those on Government farms.
The cross-bred herd has maintained the milk supply at the Agricultural College
Dairy for the last 9 years and the cows have more than paid for their keep.
The difference in weight of the calves on the whole in each generation are
within two or three pounds and the smaller size of the adult animals in F. 2, F. 3,
etc., must, to some extent, be due to feeding and the set-backs which the calf
experiences in its early life. If the calves were looked after by trustworthy and
efficient cattlemen, I think some improvements would be seen in the size and weight
of the F. 2, etc., but this is almost impossible in India at present.
The selected cows in each generation calve more regularly, have a shorter dry
period and yield more milk than their country ancestors.
The Livestock Section has suffered this year through retrenchment, with the
result that this experiment has been discontinued.
I consider it is possible to evolve a half-bred breed of milch cows for
India, but it will be an expensive experiment as large herds must be maintained for
selection and from what I have seen up to the present of the experiment of breeding
back on cross-breds to the country breed by the use of good country sires from
selected milkers, I am of the opinion that this is probably a better method. Calves
possessing ¼ and 1/8 imported blood resemble the country animal much more, they
have humps and their size, conformation and coats are better and the heifers appear
to be thrifty feeders when compared to the half-bred.
This experiment has provided data for those interested in cross-breeding and
thanks are due to the Madras Government for conducting and collecting data in this
experiment.
CROSS-BREEDING FOR MILK
335
First generation F. 1.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
No.
of
cow
1
2
3
4
7
8
9
10
11
12
21
61
113*
129
209
210
213
221
263
271
278
287
291
Age
years
13½
13
7
7
8
10
5
6½
3½
6½
9
12
7½
9½
6
4
6
6
5
4½
4
3½
3½
Average
Cal-
vings
9
8
5
4
7
8
3
2
1
3
7
6
3
6
3
2
2
4
2
2
1
1
1
4
Average
milk
yield
lb.
5,885
6,494
3,140
3,757
4,633
6,574
4,314
7,375
6,286
2,483
3,200
4,526
6,157
5,506
3,524
4,462
6,423
5,183
5,327
7,326
4,299
6,977
3,947
5,122
Highest milk
yield and
daily average
lb.
7,397/24.1
10,529/18.7
3,735/11.9
4,267/16.6
5,189/14.5
9,731/28.9
5,752/18.8
9,347/13.5
6,286/15.5
2,974/10.6
4,948/17.4
7,594/15.4
7,590/15.7
7,886/23.5
4,048/12.1
4,873/14.6
6,717/15.0
6,439/22.7
5,466/15.7
7,326/20.4
4,299/13.9
6,977/19.5
3,947/19.9
6,231/17.3
Average
daily
average
lb.
18.1
17.5
10.5
15.2
17.2
21.7
14.8
15.4
15.5
10.1
12.3
13.7
16.4
17.8
10.8
15.4
17.0
18.5
18.5
20.4
13.9
19.5
19.9
16.1
Average
No. of
days dry.
64
60
72
88
66
87
73
290
..
108
90
81
48
84
76
33
45
98
62
57
..
..
..
83
Remarks
Long dry period of
685 days omitted.
2 lactations of 800 lb.
omitted. Cow sick.
One
lactation
of
1,150 lb. omitted.
Long dry period 273
days omitted.
One
lactation
of
17,092 lb. omitted.
Dry period of 589
days omitted.
* Cow No. 113.—Aborted after 7 months in milk; she gave in this lactation 17,092 lb. milk with
a daily average of 21.1 lb.
Cow No. 114.—Has been omitted altogether from the above list as she aborted during both lac-
tations ; her yields were:—
12,731 lb. daily average 13.4.
10,820 lb. do.
do. 12.1.
336 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.
Second generation F. 2.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
No.
of
cow
15
16
17
19
22
82
84
86
87
90
92
102
122
130
164
198
201
227
266
Age
years
11
9½
9
7
6
10
10
10
8
9
7½
9¼
9
7½ 5
7
3½
6
5
Average
Cal-
vings
8
6
5
2
3
5
7
6
6
6
4
6
5
6
2
3
2
3
1
4.5
Average
milk
yield
lb.
5,034
4,211
6,773
3,702
2,685
4,974
4,920
3,880
2,537
4,118
4,456
3,474
4,102
3,032
2,544
3,198
5,314
3,754
4,592
4,068
Highest milk
yield and
daily average
lb.
6,797/21.4
6,693/19.4
8,380/18.1
3,702/12.1
3,587/11.1
5,712/16.3
6,057/17.8
5,421/16.6
3,489/12.9
4,440/12.4
5,088/15.8
4,728/15.5
4,684/14.7
3,757/17.5
2,660/11.4
3,198/12.7
5,314/15.6
5,173/16.9
4,592/10.0
4,919/15.2
Average
daily
average
lb.
16.9
14.1
18.4
12.1
11.7
15.6
16.7
13.9
10.9
16.1
14.9
12.2
14.3
14.5
12.5
12.7
15.6
11.9
10.0
14.0
Average
No. of
days dry
82
94
75
185
139
57
93
88
133
130
131
77
63
106
105
80
47
59
..
97
Remarks
Two lactations of 894
and 1,893 lb. omitted.
Lactation of 901 lb.
omitted.
One dry period of 274
days omitted.
One lactation of 402
lb. omitted.
One dry period of 655
days omitted.
One lactation 760 lb.
omitted.
Third generation F. 3.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
No.
of
cow
101
139
143
200
222
248
251
253
258
Age
years
9¼ 8¾
5
7
6¼
5
5
5
5
Average
Cal-
vings
5
5
2
4
3
2
2
3
3
3.2
Average
milk
yield
lb.
5,702
3,162*
4,514
3,921
2,961
4,100
3,689§
6,168.9
3,140
4,151
Highest milk
yield and daily
average
lb.
6,825/15.3
3,628/14.2
4,514/11.5
4,640/13.2
3,509/17.5
4,365/13.2
3,689/9.7
6,252/19.7
3,534/15.7
4,551/14.4
Average
daily
average
lb.
15.2
12.7
11.5
14.2
13.1
14.6
9.7
15.1
13.7
13.3
Average
No. of
days dry
70
118
52
89†
115‡
109
272**
60
136
94
Remarks
*First lactation 1,229
lb. omitted.
† Abnormal dry period
of 349 days omitted.
‡Abnormal dry period
of 374 days omitted.
§ First lactation of
1,101 lb. omitted.
**Omitted.
CROSS-BREEDING FOR MILK
337
Particulars of some ¼ bred cows (¼ Ayrshire and ¾ Sindhi) bred at Hosur Cattle Farm.
No.
225
247
250
261
262
Age
years
6
5
5
5½
5½
Milk yields
lb.
4,455
5,534
4,297
2,477
3,663
2,540
3,583
5,319
5,689
3,577
Daily averages
lb.
12.8
14.6
14.8
11.3
13.8
14.6
11.1
16.1
18.5
13.4
Days
dry
95
18
71
241
102
202
..
82
..
79
Remarks
Particulars of best animals purchased from Pusa in 1930 (¼ Ayrshire, ¾ Sahiwal).
216 CL
237 RJ
250 MT
252 MB
255 RJ
265 MT
6
5½
5
5
5
..
8,570
11,532
3,902
3,588
5,495
4,773
5,094
4,075
8,169
2,700.5
4,370
19.9
27.8
13.7
11.1
15.1
15.1
19.0
13.1
17.1
4.8
15.2
103
..
..
117
..
47
..
101
..
284
..
Still in milk.
Still in milk.
THE DURATION OF IMMUNITY IN CALVES INOCULATED BY
THE GOAT VIRUS CUM SERUM METHOD AGAINST
RINDERPEST
BY
P. C. BANERJI, G.B.V.C.,
Officiating Veterinary Deputy Superintendent, Imperial Institute of Veterinary Research,
Muktesar.
(Received for publication on the 13th September 1933.)
The results of experiments designed to test the duration of immunity in calves
inoculated by the usual sero-virus method at this Institute have recently been
published by D'Costa and Balwant Singh [1933] and the continuation of the work
with a modified virus will now be reported.
The introduction of goat virus for prophylactic inoculation against rinderpest
may be regarded as a notable advance in the development of such measures against
this disease in India, although our knowledge in regard to the precise value of this
product cannot, as yet, be declared to have reached a stage when it can be safely
recommended for use under all circumstances as a substitute for the more usual ox
virus. Nevertheless, this product would appear to meet the present demand for
a cheaper method of active immunisation for general application to the herds of
cattle in Indian rural districts in that, when goat virus is used, an efficient margin
of safety can be attained with a much smaller dose of serum than when ox virus is
inoculated. Indeed in many cases it would appear that serum may be dispensed
with altogether as shown independently by Kerr [1932] and by Stirling [1932].
Although considerable attention has been paid to the susceptibility of goats in
various parts of the world and Koch [1897] noted that virus when passaged through
goats became less virulent for cattle, the use of virus from this source for field
inoculations does not appear to have been considered a practical proposition except
by Bliss [1922] who recommended the use of goat virus in China, and Topacio
[1926] whose experiments proved the economy of the method. Edwards [1927] has
recorded the circumstances and the method which led to the establishment of a
rinderpest goat virus at this Institute, and he also emphasised the fact that this
virus was free from the serious drawback attendant upon the use of ox virus, in
that blood protozoan parasites, e.g., piroplasmata, are not infrequently introduced
along with the virulent blood.
A point of considerable importance, in regard to which little information is
available, is the duration of the immunity conferred upon cattle which have been
( 338 )
IMMUNITY IN CALVES INOCULATED BY GOAT VIRUS AGAINST RINDERPEST 339
successfully immunised by the simultaneous inoculation of goat virus and serum,
and in 1928 Dr. J. T. Edwards, then Director of this Institute, initiated a series of
experiments to ascertain the possibility of substituting goat virus for ox virus for
the control of rinderpest in the field. One of the series consisted of comparing the
duration of immunity in calves and the tests and previous records of these animals
have been available to the writer, who considers that the series, though small,
should now be recorded for the benefit of other workers in this field.
These calves were of both indigenous and European-cross breeds and had been
reared in the Muktesar Dairy Herd from dams which had been immunised by the
serum-simultaneous method of inoculation with ox virus. The virus used in the
case of the calves was obtained from goats that had been inoculated with " fixed "
goat rinderpest virus maintained by passaging alternately through goats and bulls.
Sera of known potency were used for immunisation and each calf was given the
same dose of serum as it would have received if bull virus had been used. In
those cases which showed no evidence of reaction before the fourth or fifth day
after the initial inoculation, a further dose of goat virus was administered. The
viability of the virus used for immunisation and for testing the duration of im-
munity was in all cases determined by inoculation into susceptible bulls. Altogether
22 calves were used in this experiment and the record of their reactions is given in
the appended Table I.
Of these 22 calves 8 died from causes other than rinderpest before the period
allotted for testing their immunity. The remaining 14 were tested by the inocula-
tion of ox virus at intervals varying from 12—31 months after the initial immunisa-
tion.
340 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [ III, IV.
TABLE I.
Serial
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Brand
No.
180
169
168
253
167
177
205
190
1322
Breed
Indigenous .
¼ European .
¼ „ .
¼ „
Indigenous .
„ .
½ European .
Indigenous .
¼ European .
Age
1 month
1 month and
22 days.
1 month and
26 days.
2 months .
2
„ .
2
„ .
2
„
2½ „
4 „ .
Reaction to serum-
simultaneous
inoculation
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Thermal reaction com-
menced on 8th day
after inoculation pro-
bably due to Piroplas-
mosis.
Nil
Died on 12th day after
inoculation. Cause of
death not diagnosed.
Nil
Interval of
test
Died
before
retest.
30 months
24 „ .
24
„ .
30
Died
before
retest.
26½ months .
...
Died
before
retest.
Reaction to test
...
Very marked thermal
reaction with slight
inappetence.
Marked thermal reac-
tion. Blood found to
carry infection
on
sub-inocculation.
Very slight
thermal
reaction.
Mild thermal reaction
with slight inappe-
tence.
Marked thermal reac-
tion. Blood proved
to be infective by
sub-inocculation.
...
...
Remarks
.....
.....
.....
.....
20 c. c. of 1 per cent.
Trypanblue injected in-
travenously.
.....
IMMUNITY IN CALVES INOCULATED BY GOAT VIRUS AGAINST RINDERPEST 341
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
185
331
284
1538
183
179
163
173
162
175
158
578
157
½ „ .
½ „ .
Indigenous .
½ European .
½ „
Indigenous .
„ .
¼ European .
¼ „ .
?
Indigenous .
½ European .
¼ „ .
4 „ .
4 „ .
5 „ .
5
„ .
6
„ .
7
„ .
8
„ .
8
„ .
9 „ .
9
„ .
10
„ .
10
„ .
11 „ .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Mild thermal reaction .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Mild and decided ther-
mal reaction accom-
panied by slight in-
appetence and com-
plicated by Piroplas-
mosis.
Died
before
retest.
Died
before
retest.
18 months
24 „ .
30 „ .
About
20
months.
18 months
Died
before
retest.
12 months.
31 „ .
18 „ .
Died
before
retest.
12 months.
...
...
Marked thermal reac-
tion possibly due to
rinderpest.
Nil .
Nil .
Very slight thermal
reaction on 3rd day
and 4th day.
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
Nil .
...
Nil.
......
......
Resuscitation of P. bige-
minum on the 21st day
of immunisation.
In-
jected trypanblue in-
travenously.
Injected 50 c. c. 1 per
cent. trypanblue intra-
venously. Resuscitation
of P. bigeminum on the
19th
day
of
retest.
Thirty c. c. of 1 per cent.
trypanblue injected in-
travenously.