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districts. I would humbly suggest in future that all reports prior to being
submitted be briefly criticised by the President of the Dispensary Committee and
that all figures be checked. The majority received this year were very inaccurate,
the appendices and the body of the report not tallying. (Tables XXIV, XXV
and XXVI in connection with the dispensaries are attached.)
Tours of the Superintendent.
178. A reference to the Appendix XXVII will show the exact places
visited by me during the year under report and a general summary of each
district with regard to its horse-breeding capabilities is given below.
Poona.
179. Poona.—Heads the list as the best horse-breeding tract in the
Deccan and the industry is carried on more or less
throughout the whole district with the. exception of
its extreme western portion. The best and largest mares are to be found
immediately along the course of the Bhima River, and the further you leave its
banks so the mares decrease in size and numbers.
Ahmednagar.
180. Ahmednagar stands next on the list; all the central and southern
portions of the district carry good mares, but there is
a considerable falling off both in size and numbers in
the northern part immediately bordering on Násik. The district, taken as a
whole, may be classed as good, and I have seen numbers of instances within the
last year of rayats purchasing mares for "brood" in the immediate neighbour-
hood of Ahmednagar. This is a healthy sign and tends to show that the
establishment of the nursery is slowly but surely having the desired effect.
Khándesh.
181. Khándesh.—All the principal places in Khándesh were visited by me
during the year, and with the exception of about 30
mares useful for breeding horse stock, the remainder
were all ponies varying from 10 to 12 hands in height. Since the year 1862
Government stallions have been kept in this district, amongst them thorough-
breds and Arab horses, and one can only infer from this that the mares in those
days must have been considerably larger than at present. During the whole of
my tour, when every available horse and pony was collected for my inspection,
I saw nothing, with the exception of the above 30 mares, fit to mate with any-
thing larger than a 13-2 hand pony, and the majority not even large enough for
this. The statistics of the district for many years back were carefully gone
into by me, and in consultation with the district officials it was deemed advisable
to remove all the Government stallions, with the exception of two ponies and
one donkey, and to arrange a modified form of touring whereby the stallions
would change their stands every three months. The material though small is
excellent. The ponies average from 10 to 13 hands high, are very hardy and
capable of going long distances on poor fare. Though sufficient for the wants
of their owners, who usually drive them in small "Chakri Tongas," they are too
small for transport purposes and the general public; and it is evident that no
attempt is made to breed for the outside market. I saw numbers of mares
which had been branded for years and had never visited a Government sire
although their owners lived within a few miles of a stallion stand. The majority
of these mares, however, had foals at foot, chance-gets by village ponies. Whe-
ther the introduction of one or two shapely country-bred ponies into such
districts would meet with success remains to be seen, as I propose, when such
are available, to give the experiment a trial; but the experience of years has
proved that the Arab pony in this and similar districts is not appreciated.
Násik.
182. Násik.—There are a few good mares in the extreme southern portion
of the Nasik District, but in the central and northern
parts nothing but small ponies varying from 10 to 13
hands are to be found.
Sholápur.
183. Sholápur.—The small strip of this district which goes north and
borders Poona and Ahmednagar has some of the
largest and best mares in the Presidency, but the
central and southern portion has only a few and mostly very indifferent ponies.
184. Bijápur.—Dhárwár and Belgaum are practically destitute of horse-
flesh, and with the exception of a few ponies of the smallest and meanest descrip-
tion, none are to be found in these districts.