6
This state of affairs is, no doubt, due to the fact that at no period of its existence
has the Deccan ever been contaminated by coarse blood, and that its mares are
more or less pure, whereas in other parts of India it is impossible to say to what
coarse, common and remote ancestor your mare is going to throw back to.
The drawbacks to the Deccan, however, are very great: it contains few mares,
poor owners, and is very liable to famine, all of which militate against any
marked progress ever being made in horse-breeding, and the work of years is
thrown back by a single famine such as the one experienced last year.
If the causes of rejection are carefully analyzed, it will be found that they
work out very satisfactorily, and to a great extent prove that the buying of young
stock in this part of India in expert hands need not be such a lottery as is
commonly supposed, more especially when it is taken into consideration that
stock which do not quite realize expectations, as far as height is concerned, for
British Cavalry, can always be sent to Native Cavalry, providing care has been
exercised in their purchase and they are suitable in other ways. Out of the
number rejected one was a chance get received from the Madras Lancers, one
was issued to the 20th Hussars from the Hapur Depôt, found unsuitable and
returned to this Depôt to be sold, 3 cast for accidents and unsoundness, and 2
undersized which realized at auction Rs. 385 each. These figures further analyzed
show that this Depôt was only answerable for 2 animals that did not grow
sufficiently to enter either branch of the service, yet were good enough at 3½
years of age to realize the fair price of Rs. 385 each. Accidents and unsound-
ness must occur and, therefore, cannot be compared in this table.
(2).—Remounts,
Country-bred.
Number purchased.
11. The number of country-bred remounts purchased during the year is
given in Table VI, and the following table compares
the number with that for the last two years :—
For whom purchased.
Bombay Native Cavalry ...
...
...
...
Police, Northern Division ... ... ... ...
Do. Central
do. ... ... ... ...
Do. Southern
do.
...
...
...
Do. in Sind
...
...
...
...
Remount Rearing Depôt, Ahmednagar ... ...
Sixteenth Bengal
Cavalry...
...
...
...
Fifteenth
do, Lancers ... ... ... ...
Zhob Levy Corps ... ... ... ...
Total ...
1895-96.
259
6
...
...
143
69
12
3
29
521
1896-97.
128
2
3
2
143
27
...
...
...
304
1897-98.
332
5
6
2
90
30
...
...
...
465
12. There is an increase of 161 as compared with the previous year.
Government during the last year reduced the number of young stock to be kept
at the Ahmednagar Depôt from 200 to 150; hence it was necessary to purchase
only 30 to make up the full complement. The average number, viz., 150, has
been maintained here during the year. The breeders in the immediate neigh-
bourhood have lately taken to bring in their young stock direct to the Depôt for
the Remount Agent to purchase. Several have been bought in this way, and
every encouragement given to the men to continue this practice, which, for
reasons unknown, did not find favour with them before. Out of 465 remounts
purchased, 94 are the known produce of Government sires. This, no doubt,
appears a very small percentage; but when it is taken into consideration that
out of the large number of officers who purchase remounts the Remount Depart-
ment officers are the only ones who appear to make it a point of endeavouring
to find out the pedigree of a horse, the above figures are not altogether unsatis-
factory,.