21
villagers. There are many good buffaloes on the confines of the farm and the
bull supplies a great want and his services are being fully utilized.
30. During the, year 8,00,000 lbs. of hay was secured for farm use and
1,00,000 lbs. of grass was made into ensilage by the farm establishment supple-
mented by daily labour.
Besides the above, 10,00,000 lbs. of hay were secured under the fodder
reserve scheme ; it is stacked loose in the barns owing to difficulty in procuring
wire for baling. This is the second instalment towards the 30,00,000 lbs.
which it is proposed to hold in reserve. The work of harvesting is carried out
as economically as possible and with the extension of the use of machinery
which has proved very successful on the farm the cost will be still further
reduced in future.
During the year 59,195 lbs. of hay from the fodder reserve was sold at
Rs. 12 per 1,000 lbs. for the use of Government stallions.
31. The proposed well boring operations were again held in abeyance for
another year.
32. A stallion was kept as usual for 9 months at the farm, being sent back
to Ahmedabad during the rains. During his stay at the farm he covered 63
mares. This stallion stand is becoming very popular.
33. The farm was visited by many officials and others, both from British
territories and Native States, the hay-making operations creating considerable
interest.
(2) Equines.
(i) Horse and Pony stallions.
Table X.
34. At the beginning of the year 40 stallions, viz., 18 horses and 22 ponies,
were employed at stud. One horse was destroyed
and one died during the year. Six horses were
purchased. A new stand was opened at Viramgam in Ahmedabad District.
Twenty-nine stallions were stationed in the Deccan and 15 in Gujarat.
Table XI.
35. During the year 1,924 mares were covered against 1,804 in the previous
year. The average number covered per stallion was
46.94 against 45.27.
Table XII.
36. The average annual cost of maintenance of stallions amounted to
Rs. 424 per head against Rs. 455 in the previous year.
The decrease is satisfactory. Only in the Sholapur
District is an increase in the cost of maintenance to be noted and in that case
it was due to necessary expenditure on the stables.
(ii) Donkey stallions.
37. There is no mule-breeding in the Presidency.
(3) Others.
38. Lieut.-Col. O'Brien, the Administrator of Porbandar State, obtained 4
Merino rams from Australia with a view to crossing the indigenous ewes with
them. From his report they seem to have come through their first tupping
season in the spring very well but the summer heat proved very trying for them
and they all succumbed during the autumn to some form of lung disease con-
tracted during the monsoon. Out of 26 lambs born of the spring tupping, only
8 survived and these are said to be doing well now. It is regrettable that the
experiment should have proved such a failure and it indicates that the most
scrupulous care must be exercised in the management of imported rams in this
country.
(4) Fairs and Shows.
TABLE XIII
39. As in the previous year the Ahmednagar Horse Show had to be
abandoned owing to the prevalence of plague. No
provision was sanctioned for the Ahmedabad Horse
Show.
N 21—6