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PART II.-PROVINCIAL REPORT.
I.-HORSE-BREEDING.
Number of stallions
on the Register.
89. Table I (Provincial) will show that the number of stallions present at
the beginning of the year was 195, viz., 81 horses and 114 ponies. During the
year 46 were added, and the same number was reduced by casualties, sales, etc.,
leaving a balance at the close of the year of 195, viz., 56 horses and 139 ponies.
The cause of such wide differences between the horses and ponies, in the open-
ing and closing balances, is due to 27 ponies having hitherto been erroneously
shown as horses; this has now been corrected.
Number of stallions
at work.
90. Of the 195 stallions on the Register, 176 were actually employed at stud
work: the remaining 19 were the new purchases, which were obtained almost
at the close of the year under report.
Casualties.
91. A reference to Table III (Provincial) will show that 5 stallions died, and
only 1 was destroyed during the year, which must be considered as satisfactory.
Sales.
92. Table IV (Provincial) shows that 1 horse and 8 pony stallions were sold
during the year; the average prices realized was R400 for the horse, and
E158-14-0 for each pony.
Cost of feed and
keep.
93. Table IX will show that the cost of feed and keep was as follows:—
Horses
Ponies
.
.
. R264 against R254 last year.
. R296 against R292 last year.
94. The high cost of maintenance of ponies, as compared to horses, is due to
the cost of keep of ponies in the Madras Presidency having amounted to R377
each.
Number of mares
covered by District
Board stallions.
95. The total number of mares served by District Board horse and pony
stallions was 9,464 against 9,627 last year, giving an average of 53.46 per
stallion employed. It is satisfactory to note that although there were 163
mares less than in the previous year, the average per stallion employed has
been fully maintained.
Demand for District
Board stallions.
96. The demand for good Arab pony stallions steadily continues. The good
done by selected District Board pony stallions being employed to serve the
smaller mares, is generally acknowledged.
Provincial cost of
the Department.
97. Table XVIII shows the Provincial cost of the Department to have been
R2,92,748-7-8, against R2,59,579-13-3, last year; the increase is, however,
accounted for by the fact of the expenditure incurred last year in the Madras
Presidency, not having been communicated in time. If the average annual
expenditure incurred in Madras is added to the figures of last year, the outlay
of the year 1900-1901 shows a satisfactory decrease.
II.-MULE-BREEDING.
Donkey stallions
belonging to
District Boards.
Produce.
98. Table VII shows that of the 12 donkey stallions maintained by District
Boards, 11 were actually employed.
99. They covered 273 pony mares, compared with 356 in the previous year.
100. The number of mule foals reported to have been produced during the
year under report is 59. This information, however, is not to be relied on, as no
agency exists by which accurate statistics can be obtained.
III.-CATTLE DISEASE-INVESTIGATION AND
PREVENTION.
Outbreaks of cattle
disease.
101. In no province is the staff necessary for the proper investigation and
prevention of cattle disease, as complete or as fully organized as it should be;
therefore, the figures shown in Table XX (Provincial) indicating the total
mortality of cattle, cannot be considered as reliable.