REVIEW BY THE DIRECTOR, LAND RECORDS AND
AGRICULTURE, BOMBAY.
No. A/3320 OF 1901.
Poona, 3rd August 1901.
Submitted to Government.
Curtailment of the Re-
ports.
2. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, Bombay, has tried
to curtail his report in accordance with the orders of
Government. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary
Department, Baluchistan and Sind, has given as before
a detailed account of the working of each dispensary, which ought to have been
curtailed, and states in explanation that he did not receive copies of Government
Resolutions on the subject. Some necessary changes in the numbering of the
tables and the omission of blank tables (including Table P about tour made)
have been made by this office.
Superintendent's tour.
3. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, Bombay, travelled
843 miles by road and 10,671 miles by rail for the
performance of his various duties.
Stallions and their actual
strength.
4. There were 46 stallions at the commencement and 47 at the close of
the year. The effective strength during the year was
39.67 against 40.33 during the preceding year.
Mares covered.
5. The number of mares covered was 943 against 1,162, giving an average
per stallion of 23.77 mares as compared with 28.81.
The falling off is attributed to the effects of famine.
Owing to the heavy mortality among mares in Gujarát, the Superintendent
has deemed it advisable to temporarily close three of the stands (Deesa, Prántij
and Kaira).
Produce statistics.
6. Out of the 1,162 mares covered during the preceding year, 405 foaled,
540 did not hold and the result of the rest is not
known. In spite of the appreciable rise from 12.75 to
18.68 in the percentage of unknown results, the percentage of produce has risen
from 31.45 to 34.85, the percentage of " not held " cases going down from 55.80
to 46.47. The increase in the percentage of produce is confined to the Deccan,
Gujarát showing a fall from 29.26 to 21.88 per cent., apparently due to the
greater dearth of fodder.
Relative merits of stallions
as foal-getters.
7. The Arab classes of stallions maintained their precedence over the
thorough-bred English as regards the relative merits
as foal-getters, the percentage of produce being for
Arab horses 35.23, for Arab ponies 37.95 and for
thorough-bred English 26.25. No notice need be taken of the other classes of
stallions, as they are each represented by a single stallion.
Country-bred
remounts
purchased.
8, Though the number of country-bred remounts purchased was 135, the
number purchased within the Presidency proper was
only 31, the rest of the purchases being made in Sind,
Baluchistan and Punjáb. It is again satisfactory to
find that as many as 50 per cent. of the total purchases were the known produce
of Government stallions.
Castration.
9. Thirty-five colts were castrated in the Pre-
sidency proper and 38 in Sind, making a total of 73
as compared with 60 during the preceding year.
Mares branded.
10. The number of mares branded was about the same as during the pre-
ceding year, being 179 against 183. Of these only 9
were branded in Gujarát and the rest in the Deccan.
The depletion of horse-stock in Gujarát accounts for the small number of mares
branded in that Province.
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