36
shows that the total expenditure amounted to Rs. 2,52,314-15-11 as against
Rs. 1,50,796-4-5 last year, showing an increase of Rs. 1,01,518-11-6. Of the
total expenditure Rs. 37,326-3-10 were debited to the Imperial funds,
Rs. 1,62,545-10-9 were paid from the Provincial funds, and Rs. 52,443-1-4
were charged to Local funds.
VI.—GENERAL REMARKS.
70. Administration,—During the year under report the work of the
Department has considerably increased not only owing to normal expansion,
but also by the transfer of the Horse Breeding Operations of the Deccan Circle
from the Army Remount Department to this Department. To provide for
more complete administration of the Department, the services of an Assistant
of the Imperial Service as well as a Deputy of the Provincial Service are
required. The Provincial service officer would relieve the Superintendent of
much of the routine work of his office, while the Assistant would be employed
in special enquiries on Bacteriological investigations and would be available
to relieve the Superintendent on occasion, so providing that continuity of
administration which is so advisable.
71. Compounders.—Great difficulty is experienced in obtaining capable
compounders and many dispensaries are without them. As Veterinary Assist-
ants in charge of dispensaries spend a large amount of their time in the districts,
I consider compounders necessary or the dispensaries have to be closed, when
the Veterinary Assistants are away. A good compounder capable of attending
to simple cases in the temporary absence of the Veterinary Assistant is a valu-
able asset to a dispensary and greatly increases the mobility of the Veterinary
+Assistant.
72. Preventive Inoculation.—Methods for reporting outbreaks of conta-
gious diseases have been much improved during the year. Arrangements have
also been made for storing serum at the head-quarter of each Division; these
outbreaks can now be visited more quickly and preventive inoculation, where
practicable, more promptly carried out. Unfortunately so far it has not been
found possible to carry out this work systematically owing to opposition from
owners of cattle. In no outbreak that has come to my notice has it been
possible to protect all cattle in an affected area, and it is practically useless to
send a Veterinary Assistant to a village to inoculate a few animals here and
there. Those inoculated few will be protected for a time (the period of protec-
tion is quite long enough for the stamping out of the disease if all are protected
at the same time), but the disease will go on among the unprotected ones, and
probably linger for such a time that eventually the protected ones having lost
their acquired immunity begin to die and in this way preventive inoculation
is brought into disrepute. The only way to get thorough control of an outbreak
is for a number of men to attend at once and inoculate every head of cattle
in the affected and all contact herds. To do this we require more trained men,
but what is of still greater importance, the prolonged attendance on the spot
of a Superior Officer, who from his thorough knowledge of the language and
the people can so represent the position of affairs as to induce all owners to
combine and have every animal protected at once. The backward condition
of preventive inoculation in this Presidency is due chiefly to the want of such
an officer, and in this belief I recently addressed the Director of Agriculture
on the subject. The matter is now before Government and I hope the appoint-
ment of a Deputy Superintendent will shortly be sanctioned whose chief duties
will be to organise and establish a systematic way of dealing with outbreaks
of contagious disease. I wish to urge the deep consideration of this matter
as the annual loss from rinderpest alone is very heavy and this is a matter of
deep regret when we know that if only outbreaks can be properly dealt with,
the disease can be arrested.