5
breeding in this Presidency generally coincide with those of Mr. Mollison as
contained in his letter published in the preamble of Government Resolution
No. 5499, dated 7th August 1899, Revenue Department, on the Ahmednagar
Show. But it is doubtful whether the compulsory castration of all but selected
bulls, as advocated by those officers, is practicable. There is a general belief
among Deccan cultivators that animals, when castrated very young, do not attain
the muscle development necessary for draught cattle. At present, persuasion
only can be tried, and little can be done in this respect until the Subordinate
Civil Veterinary Staff is organized.
Shows.
16. No shows were held during the year under
report owing to the prevailing scarcity.
Cattle-diseases.
17. The following statement shows the extent of epidemic cattle-diseases
in the Presidency proper and in Sind as compared
with the preceding year : —
Years.
Presidency proper
...
...
Sind
...
...
...
...
Total, 1899-1900 ...
Total, 1898-1899 ...
Rinderpest.
At-
tacks.
2,371
...
2,371
1,548
Per
centage
of
deaths.
56.43
...
56.43
64.00
Anthrax.
At-
tacks.
271
38
309
179
Per
centage
of
deaths.
91.88
100.00
92.88
88.27
Foot-and-
mouth disease.
At-
tacks.
2,577
286
2,863
2,794
Per
centage
of
deaths.
5.86
2.09
5.48
4.11
Pleuro-
pneumonia.
At-
tacks.
54
...
54
...
Per
centage
of
deaths.
37.04
...
37.04
...
Charbon
Sympto-
matique.
At-
tacks.
158
...
158
98
Per
centage
of
deaths.
93.04
...
93.04
52.04
Other diseases.
At-
tacks.
35
3,590
3,625
3,678
Per
centage
of
deaths.
82.86
1.56
2.34
9.02
Total.
At-
tacks.
5,466
3,914
9,380
8,297
Per
centage
of
deaths.
35.40
2.55
21.68
19.86
The total number of attacks and the percentages of deaths are slightly
greater than during the preceding year. In the Presidency proper, Thána heads
the list in the number of attacks and deaths, the majority of the cases being
rinderpest and foot-and-mouth disease. In Sind a large number of cases are
entered,as during the preceding year, under "other diseases", and the Superintend-
ent, Baluchistán and Sind, has not explained the nature of these. He also states
in the body of his report that reports regarding cattle-diseases were received
by him from all districts, though Table M would show that Karáchi and Hyder-
abad were the only affected districts. This office has not received from Sind
any cattle-disease report, excepting one from the Upper Sind Frontier district,
regarding a case of glanders in the regimental lines at Jacobabad. Veterinary
Major Morgan also states that cattle-disease, though prevalent in Kolába and
Surat, was not reported, and he has reason to believe that Sholápur and Bijápur,
from which likewise no reports were received, could not possibly have been free
from it. The attention of the officers concerned should be again drawn to the
standing orders of Government in the matter of reporting cattle-diseases.
From paragraphs 41 to 47 of Veterinary Major Morgan's report it will be
seen that no conclusive experiments with inoculation against rinderpest could
be conducted during the year under report either for want of serum or on
account of the rapid subsidence of the disease. It is contemplated to place a
trained Veterinary graduate under the Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Depart-
ment, Bombay, to assist him in prosecuting the said experiments.
The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, Bombay, inspected the
eight cattle camps in Gujarát—six at Ahmedabad and one each at Nádiad and
Broach. These camps contained about 7,000 animals, of which only 68 died of
rinderpest. This low mortality from rinderpest among such a large number of
cattle the Superintendent is inclined to attribute to the direct action of the
sun, absorbent nature of the soil, and good sanitary arrangements. At the same
time he thinks that these favourable conditions were probably helped by the
resisting power of the Gujarát cattle.
In paragraph 73, the Superintendent attributes the heavy mortality among
Gujarát cattle drafted to the Thána forests to starvation. Government have
B 347—B