157
Berar.
694. The Director of Land Records and Agriculture states with reference
to the Veterinary Assistants employed :—
"As noted at the commencement of this report, the Veterinary staff of one Inspector and two Assistants is
not sufficient to cope with the work, if outbreaks of cattle disease are to receive the attention they should do.
The issue of the orders of the Government of India on the Subordinate Civil Veterinary staff is still anxiously
awaited ; not only are we unable to increase the strength of the Department in all absence of any knowledge of
the intentions of Government, but also our men are unable to obtain promotion to which they are fairly entitled.
Our Veterinary graduate, Mr. V. K. Vairagkar, has completed the term of service on Rs. 40, to which he was
bound in consideration of the expenses of his education in the Bombay College being defrayed by the Local
Administration ; he now finds that his brother graduates have got far ahead of him in other Provinces, and he
is naturally dissatisfied with his own prospects. Should there be no immediate likelihood of the development of
our staff under the scheme referred to above, I would suggest that some temporary promotion should be allowed
to our two Veterinary Assistants, who have worked well and are entitled to consideration.
"I have been thoroughly satisfied with the manner in which the Veterinary staff have performed their
duties during the past year. "
Central Provinces.
695. The Commissioner of Settlements and Agriculture states : —
" Of the two candidates who were deputed in 1897 to the Ajmere Veterinary School for a two years' course,
one Shridhur Marothi passed. The other (Hari Anant) failed to secure the prescribed number of marks in
medicine. The Principal of the School attributes his failure to nervousness, and recommends that he should be
permitted to go through another year's course. This is being referred for the orders of the Chief Commissioner.
In the meantime he is doing duty under the Veterinary Inspector at Nagpur. No new candidates were sent to
the School in 1898, as applicants were not forthcoming in time. Arrangements are now being made to send
two new students in June 1899, and the Principal of the Ajmere School has been applied to for the services of
one or two passed Veterinary Assistants who may be in need of employment.
" As additional dispensaries are opened, it will be necessary to have senior Veterinary Assistants to inspect
them and exercise a professional supervision, especially if, as it appears, no Superintendent, Civil Veterinary
Department, is to be sent to these Provinces. This is a matter which will also have to be represented to the
Administration."
N.-W. Provinces.
696. The work done by Veterinary Assistants in the North-Western Prov-
inces and Oudh appears to have been satisfactory, and is reported by the
Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, in the following terms:—
"At the beginning of 1898-99, 23 Veterinary Assistants were employed in the treatment, suppression
and prevention of diseases amongst horses and cattle and in the castration of colts. They also toured through
the districts, visiting the different villages, enquired for disease and advised as to the best means of prevention,
treatment and suppression.
" The District Boards of Hamirpur, Benares, Pilibhit and Almora temporarily employed Veterinary As-
sistants at their own expense.
" Two Veterinary Assistants were employed on special duty outside their own districts in connection with
the inspection of suspected glanders cases.
" The monthly diaries of Veterinary Assistants have regularly been received and forwarded to the Assistant
to the Inspector-General, Civil Veterinary Department, to be ledgered in his office.
" The Veterinary Assistants treated 9,449 cases of rinderpest against 2,833 last year, being an increase
of 6,616.
" Seven thousand and one hundred cases of foot and mouth disease against 3,571 last year, being an
increase of 3,529.
" One thousand seven hundred and one cases of Authrax against 445 last year, being an increase of
1,256."
Punjab.
697. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, North Punjab,
states:—
'It is impossible to tell whether the Salutris carry on their work satisfactorily, as they were only in each
instance with me for about a day in their respective Tehsils.
" I examined most of them in the treatment of various diseases, and their answers, on the whole, were
satisfactory, but it was no proof that they put their knowledge into practice. The fault to find in their re-
plies is that they invariably forget to take into consideration that nursing, dieting, etc., is the first thing to be
thought of ; the general comfort of the animal seems to be a minor detail with them ; they fly at once to name
every conceivable drug in the Pharmacy when asked the treatment for the simplest disease. "
698. The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, South Punjab,
states :—
" The number of Veterinary Assistants employed was 52 as compared with 36 in the previous year, and
7 640 villages were visited by them.
A these veterinary Assistants were seen and inspected by me whilst on tour. Although good work is
done, much more might be attained if these men were under proper supervision.
" Many become slack and lose interest in their work for the want of some one who could point out to them
how their work should be performed. "
699. Taken as a whole, I consider that the Subordinate Veterinary estab-
lishment has worked well. There are two points required to make it work
still better. They are:—
(a) A more practical training than the Veterinary Assistants obtain at
present at the colleges. This is one of the points which will be
brought forward for discussion at the Conference which I pur-
pose asking the Government of India to assemble, in order to
decide on some curriculum which will have the effect of turning
out better men from our colleges.