21
for ponies against 50 and 39.45 respectively last year. The services of the
horse stallions were in great demand in the United Provinces 53.9, Punjab 56,
and North-West Frontier Province 57.25, whilst in Bombay 43.39 was the
average per stallion employed. The average for pony stallions was also good
in the first three Provinces, 52.2, 52 and 48.2, respectively. But in Bombay
it only reached 30.61, Burma 23.2, Madras 21, whilst the stallion in Bengal
did not cover a single mare. Of the 99 donkeys on the register, 62 were
employed at stud during the year and covered 3,435 mares or an average of
55.4 per stallion against 50.5 last year.
139. Mule breeding is a most important industry and it is hoped that the
addition of the new Jacks to the registers will result in an increase of useful
mules in Northern India. There has been an all round improvement in horse,
pony and mule breeding which may be taken as an indication that the industry
is in a satisfactory condition.
140. The average cost of feed, keep, attendance, etc., of horse, pony and
donkey stallions is given in Table XII. There has been an all round increase,
except in Bengal and Madras, which is attributed to the rise in price of forage
during the year.
Fairs and
Shows.
141. Table XIII gives the abstract particulars regarding Horse fairs and
Shows held in the non-selected districts. It has been a particularly bad year
for the success of these gatherings owing to the dearness of forage and, in some
cases, the prevalence of plague. It has consequently only been possible to hold
14 Fairs; those at Karnal, Ludhiana and Muzafargarh in the Punjab, and
Ahmedabad in Bombay had to be abandoned. There were no Fairs held in
the United Provinces, Sind, Bombay, Madras, Central Provinces or Burma.
142. The attendance was comparatively small, only 11,629 animals being
present. The greatest falling off appears to have occurred in Bengal where,
although only one Fair less was held, the attendance fell from 28,035 to 6,402.
There was a considerable fall in the number attending the two Fairs in the
North-West Frontier Province, viz., 593 against 1,159. In the Punjab and
Rajputana, the attendance was about normal. The number competing for
prizes was 1,907 and 7 medals and Rs. 4,692 out of Rs. 7,267 actually avail-
able, were awarded as prizes.
143. Table XIV gives the abstract particulars regarding Cattle Fairs and
Shows. 72 were held against 73 last year. The amount actually awarded in prizes
was Rs. 30,385-11-6 out of the available Rs. 33,801-13-0 Fifty three medals
were also distributed. The number of animals competing for prizes was 14,731
against 11,077 last year. The total number of stock present is reported to
have been 763,835 against 836,067 last year. The amount realized in fees
was Rs. 1,19,670-14-5 against Rs. 1,36,989-11-6 last year.
144. As a rule the Shows are held in connection with Fairs at which large
numbers of animals are brought for sale by breeders and dealers. In Madras,
however, a number of real Cattle Shows are held by the Agricultural Associ-
ations of Madura, Coimbatore, Ganjam, Godaveri, Vizagapatam and Guntur.
These Shows were held this year in Madura, Tiruppur, Behrampur, Coconada,
Kottavalsa and Ongole. They appear to have proved a success and to be
worthy of substantial encouragement. From the breeders point of view, the
Ongole and Tiruppur shows were a very great success and great interest appears
to be taken in them. The exhibits were good and there is no doubt that the
gatherings are of considerable benefit in exciting emulation amongst local
breeders and tending towards the production of better stock.
145. The Ongole breed is decidedly a good one and the large purchases
of the best young stock for foreign countries cannot be overlooked. If a good
market is created and prices rule high, as they do, the effect on the breeding of
superior stock should be good. With the object of providing the best avail-
able Ongole bulls for the breeders in the district, it is satisfactory to note that
Government have recognised the advisability of purchasing some of the best
male stock exhibited each year, and eight young bulls were purchased and
turned loose this year. The highest price paid for a young bull was Rs. 350.