48
mule breeding should not be given up in this Presidency and the whole of
the Superintendent's energy be concentrated on branding for horse and pony
breeding.
As Government have already been informed, I concur with the Superin-
tendent in thinking further efforts at mule breeding useless, either in the Deccan
or Gujarát. The prejudice against it is inveterate. Instead, greater encourage-
ment might perhaps be given to pony breeding.
Branding of mares.
15. The Superintendent branded only 525 mares against 1,465 during the
preceding year. This falling off is much to be regret-
ted, but was under the circumstances absolutely un-
avoidable. The only part of the country, where even in ordinary years there is
any chance of large numbers being branded, is Sind, where the Superintendent's
tour was stopped. He toured in the Deccan districts for 60 days and no doubt
would have secured better results in a year of plenty. Even as it is, the total of
236 branded for horse breeding only is not very far behind the amount, which in
the case of the North-Western Provinces in 1895-96 was found satisfactory by
the Inspector-General, Civil Veterinary Department. The grand total of 525,
which includes mares branded for pony and mule breeding, is considerably ahead
of it. At the same time I have requested the Superintendent to concentrate his
energies particularly on the Deccan during the coming season. But it has
always to be remembered that in contrast to the people of Sind and Northern
India, with whom the brand is highly popular as a frank of superior quality
and soundness, the people of the Bombay Presidency are indifferent to, if
they do not actually dislike, the brand. This prejudice no one has yet suc-
ceeded in overcoming. If any one is likely to do so, it will be the present
Superintendent, who has plenty of persuasive power and the will to exercise
it. The removal from the register of mares over twenty years of age, which
was carried out during the year by the Superintendent, is a sound and reason-
able measure. The total number of branded mares standing on the register
at the end of the year was 10,510.
The following explanation received from the Superintendent since writing
the above will show how real the difficulties are he has to contend with in the
Deccan and the extent to which conditions there differ from those of Northern
India:—
"The actual breeding grounds of the Deccan are very limited (see my Annual Report
for 1893-94, paras. 179—183) and the class of man who owns a mare is totally differ-
ent to the men on the frontier or in the Punjáb. The latter are, in the majority of cases,
rich men with several brood mares and the former a poor man with only one mare. I do
not know a single man in the Deccan that owns two brood mares. Under these conditions
I do not see how any comparison can be made, as in the one case a man often owns from 10
to 20 head of horse stock, allows the fillies to wander about the place until they are fit to
breed, and in the other his great idea is to get rid of the young stock as soon as possible,
and in a very large number of instances weaning and selling it before it is six months old.
The following table will show that a larger percentage of mares are branded over 3 years
of age than under:—
Table showing the number of mares branded in the Deccan from 1894-95 to 1896-97.
Year.
1894-95
...
...
1895-96
...
...
186-97
...
...
Total ...
3 years
and under.
21
20
18
59
Over 3 and
under 8
years.
91
152
97
340
Over 8
years.
22
40
16
78
Total.
134
212
131
477
These figures should work out exactly the other way in a district where fillies are
reserved for breeding. The selling of young and immature stock into the Nizám's Domi-
nions is fatal to the interest of horse breeding in the Deccan (see my Annual Report for
1893-94, para. 200, and for 1894-95, para. 79). The brand is not unpopular in the
Deccan and I have experienced no difficulty whatever in the matter, but what I do think
is that there are very few mares left in the Deccan that are not branded.