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Collectorates.
88. The Province of Sind is divided into the following collectorates,—Jaco-
babad, Shikárpur, Hyderabad, Karáchi and Thar and
Párkar, and for the sake of convenience the capabilities
of each district will be given separately.
Jacobabad—Horse-breeding.
89. The horse-breeding of Sind may be said to be entirely concentrated
in the Jacobabad Collectorate and is carried on by
the large number of semi-Beluch tribes which have
settled over our frontier, and it is these men alone who make the Jacobabad
District so successful a breeding centre. They are keen horsemen, much
addicted to racing and other sports, and differ widely from the pure Sindhi in
their love of horses. Eliminate these men, and Jacobabad would at once sink to
the level of Shikárpur as a horse-breeding district. On the arrival of a new
stallion at Jacobabad he is immediately surrounded by these men, keenly criti-
cised, anxious enquiries are made as to his blood, performances, price, what his
stock are like—in fact, every detail in connection with the horse is fully discussed,
and herein lies the difference between the Beluch and the Sindhi, and on no
occasion do I ever remember the latter asking a question or working up any
enthusiasm about the merits or otherwise of a stallion.
Mule-breeding.
A fairly satisfactory amount of mule-breeding is done in this district by
the Sindhi, but the Beluch is a horse-breeder and does
not enter into the industry with any spirit.
Stallion power.
During the last six years the stallion power on the Upper Sind Frontier has
remained more or less stationary and little variation
has taken place in the number of mares covered.
This to a great extent denotes that the district is fully horsed, and that breeding
is carried out on systematic lines by a certain number of men who get all their
mares covered annually, and that its capabilities are worked to the full.
During the past year one horse and one donkey were added, making a total of
16 horses and 6 donkeys. I found it necessary to make a complete change in
the class of stallions supplied to this district and to do away with all Norfolk
Trotters and substitute good class Thorough-breds and Arabs and to establish
a system of summering the English horses at Quetta, as the great heat of
Jacobabad was very detrimental to their well-being. This district now contains
some of the best horses in the Presidency thoroughly tested and acclimatized
before being sent there.
Mares.
All the best mares are concentrated in the central and northern portion
of the district. The north-east portion contains very
few of any value.
Shikárpur-Horse-breeding.
90. The Shikárpur Collectorate, although embracing a very large area, is
practically useless for horse-breeding, and the district
has made no progress during the past 6 years. In
the year 1892, I carefully enquired into the subject with a view of endeavouring
to improve matters, and it was stated at the time that the slow progress horse-
breeding made, was due to the fact that the district contained nothing but old and
worn-out stallions. I rectified this as soon as possible and replaced the old stallions
by young and vigorous horses. The results for the following two years were
distinctly better, but things gradually lapsed into their former state and I found
that the Zamindárs were averse to using the Government stallions, alleging the
most paltry excuses when asked their reasons. With the exception of one or
two men close to Shikárpur and Larkhána, who appeared to take an interest in
horses, the remainder of the breeding was done in a lax and unsatisfactory
manner, and in a very different spirit to the same industry in the Jacobabad
District. As a last resource I tried touring stallions in this collectorate, but
had to abandon any further attempts, as the results were not satisfactory.
Mule-breeding.
As a mule-breeding district Shikárpur is distinctly good and the Sindhi
in that neighbourhood takes more interest in this
industry than he does in horse-breeding.
Stallion power.
During the last 6 years the average stallion power in this district has been
four horse and twelve donkey. The former have never
covered their full complement of mares, but the latter