2
Maintenance charges.
11. The average cost of maintenance of each horse stallion was Rs. 516
and pony stallion Rs. 470. Both these costs were
higher than those incurred during the preceding two
years owing to the high prices that prevailed, but they were lower than those of
1897-98. The Superintendent has not explained why the cost of feed of pony
stallions was greater than that of horse stallions in Sátára, Kaira and
Ahmedabad.
Owing to insufficient rainfall, the Padampur Kuran and the land within the
stable enclosure at Ahmednagar were together worked at an estimated loss of
Rs. 134.
Total cost of the Depart-
ment.
12. The total cost of the Department amounted to Rs. 55,646, showing an
increase of Rs. 10,243. To the items of increased
expenditure mentioned by the Superintendent in para-
graph 22 of his report, the cost of the Ahmednagar
show, which was not held during the preceding year, should be added.
Horse and mule-breeding
under Local Boards and in
Native States.
13. The Arab stallion maintained by the Hyderabad District Local Board
covered 23 mares. Out of the 34 mares covered
during the preceding year, only 6 foaled, and the result
of as many as 22 coverings is reported as unknown.
This is hardly satisfactory, and the authorities con-
cerned should take steps to ascertain the results as far as possible in future.
The cost of maintaining this stallion was Rs. 387.
The donkey stallion kept by Khán Bahádur G. R. Jatoi covered 24 mares.
The cost of keeping this stallion is stated to have been only Rs. 53, which does
not seem correct, the preceding year's cost amounting to Rs. 264.
The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, Bombay, states that the
stands at Vánkáner, Rájkot, Bhávnager, Porbandar and Junágadh, which he
visited, were in a very satisfactory state. Nine head of young stock and 5
mules were purchased. The Pálanpur State has applied for the loan of an Arab
stallion and the Rájkot and Rewa Kántha States are desirous of establishing
paddocks for the fostering of mule-breeding.
Cattle-breeding.
14. Veterinary-Major Morgan's views with regard to the improvement of
cattle-breeding have already been noticed last year.
He advocates early castration of bulls as the chief
means of improving the breeds of Indian cattle, and attempted to put his views
into practice in the neighbourhood of Ahmednagar. He castrated a certain
number of bulls without meeting with any opposition, but thinks that no mate-
rial progress can be effected without adequate agency.
Horse-shows.
15. The Ahmednagar horse-show held in November was pronounced a
success. The exhibits numbered 432, and 9 animals
were purchased by Government.
Cattle diseases.
16. No cattle disease was reported from Broach, Surat, Khándesh, Ahmed-
nagar, Sholápur, Bijápur, Thar and Párkar and Upper
Sind Frontier.
In the Presidency proper, 3,136 animals were attacked against 5,466 during
the preceding year. Rinderpest claimed 68.9 per cent. of the attacks, foot-and¬
mouth disease 22.1 per cent., anthrax, pleuro-pneumonia and charbon-sympto¬
matique together 3.4 per cent. and other diseases 5.6 per cent. Násik suffered
most. 54.30 per cent. of the total number of attacks proved fatal.
The figures for Sind seem unreliable. The exact coincidence between the
figures given in Tables L and M for Karáchi and Hyderabad leads to the suspi-
cion that the figures from Table L, showing cases treated in the dispensaries, have
been bodily repeated in Table M, which is to show only cases of epidemic
cattle diseases. The remarks made by the Superintendent in his notice of the
working of the dispensaries that these districts remained free from contagious
diseases during the year cannot be reconciled with the entry of a large number
of cases in Table M.