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village, however, neither cattle nor their owners were to be seen, and at last
when the Lambardar was found he said that they had gone to work in the
fields and owners did not wish to have anything done. He, however, produced
four of his own animals which I inoculated, merely to demonstrate that there
was nothing dangerous in the operation.
16. I waited at Bulandshahr for three days, at the end of which time the
Collector sent to the village to enquire if, after seeing the result in the
Lambardar's cattle, other owners were willing to have their animals done, but
they persisted in their refusal and I returned to head quarters.
Result.—Four inoculated by simultaneous process. No attacks
afterwards.
17. A few days after my return to Meerut from Bulandshahr, reports
received from the Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, North-Western
Provinces and Oudh, showed that rinderpest existed in the Dun, and as I had
performed inoculation in the Western Dun the previous year with success,
it was hoped that some more work might be done there, and with this object in
view I proceeded to Mussoorie to consult the Superintendent, Dun, and that
officer promised his assistance.
18. In the meantime an application for inoculation was received from the
Deputy Commissioner, Jullunder District, and I sent orders to my trained
Veterinary Assistant to proceed to Jullunder and report himself to the Deputy
Commissioner of that district, who sent him to the village of Jabbowal, from
which the Veterinary Assistant reported that rinderpest existed, and I was
preparing to proceed thither when I received your office letter No. 733—334-M.,
dated 14th July 1900, in which I was directed to take up work in connection
with editing Notes on the breeds of Indian cattle and to discontinue inoculation
until the 15th September, as the rainy season was unfavourable for performing
inoculation.
19. This order was, I think, to be regretted, as during the following 10
weeks six applications for inoculation, with which I was unable to comply,
were received from District Officers in the Punjab.
20. But as the Veterinary Assistant had taken with him a supply of
serum and all the apparatus for inoculation, I ordered him to begin operations,
and he inoculated 93 animals by the simultaneous method in the village of
Jabbowal in the Jullunder District, and 128 in the villages of Hundowal and
Janori in the Hoshiarpur District, during the next fortnight.
Results.—Sixty-seven attacks and twenty-four deaths after inoculation.
Remarks.—The above results were reported by the Deputy Commissioner,
and as they were alarmingly unsatisfactory, I proceeded to
Hoshiarpur on the first opportunity for the purpose of making a
personal investigation, the result of which was reported in my
office letter No. 85, dated the 18th October 1900, a copy of which
is attached—marked C.
21. The Veterinary Assistant who performed these inoculations had seen
upwards of 2,000 animals operated on and had done hundreds himself under
my supervision. I therefore considered him quite qualified to undertake the
duty alone. He stated that he measured several animals in the usual way to
ascertain their respective weights, and that, in order to be on the safe side, each
animal was given a full dose of serum in proportion to its body weight. The
blood used was taken from an animal showing typical symptoms and was used
when fresh. Assuming, therefore, that the serum possessed a protective power,
it is difficult to assign a cause for the large number of attacks which followed
inoculation in this case.
22. It was unfortunate that through the non-delivery of a letter containing
instructions for the Veterinary Assistant to remain at Hoshiarpur to watch
results he returned to headquarters immediately the inoculations were
performed, because in the absence of professional evidence it is impossible to
be absolutely certain that the disease from which the cattle died was rinder-
pest at all. It has, I believe, been suggested that the serum was septic and
that the animals therefore died of septicæmia, but there is, in my opinion,
no justification for such a theory. The twenty cattle belonging to Aladiya
were inoculated in one day, and it is very unlikely that even if the serum had
been septic, attacks of septicæmia would have continued up to 21 days after
the fluid was injected (vide letter above quoted). And, moreover, the
unexpended balance of serum used in this case was sent to the Imperial Bacte-
riological Laboratory to be re-tested, and though Dr. Lingard in his report