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SHOFING FORGES.
58. Eight shoeing forges were at work in the Province during the year,
viz., at (1) Purnea, (2) Ranchi, (3) Gaya, (4) Sambalpur, (5) Bhagalpur, (6)
Motihari, (7) Monghyr and (8) Cuttack. The following notes are extracted
from the Committee's reports—
"(1) Purnea.—During the year under report there was a net profit of
Rs. 116-9 from the shoeing forge attached to" the Purnea Dispensary which
shows that it is gaining in popularity.
(2) Ranchi.—The shoeing forge attached to the Ranchi Hospital is pro-
gressing favourably. Four hundred and forty-four horses were shod during the
year, against 293 of the previous year. The work is appreciated by the
European gentlemen of the town and is mostly patronized by them.
(3) Gaya.—The total cost of shoeing was Rs. 274-11-4 during the year,
against a total income of Rs. 346-5.
(4) Sambalpur.—The shoeing forge attached to the dispensary although
not yet a self-supporting institution, has become popular and useful. A farrier
who also acts as blacksmith has been appointed on Rs. 15 per mensem instead
of two men on Rs. 15 and Rs. 6 previously employed.
(5) Bhagalpur.—It is stated that in the shoeing forge 450 animals were
shod, against 353 in the previous year. Rupees 623 were realized on this
account, but the expenditure under the same head was Rs. 773, or an excess of
Rs. 150. Three Indian gentlemen only send their horses to be shod. The
patronage of more of them is desirable to make the forge self-supporting.
(6) Motihari.—The shoeing forge here was opened in August 1909 with
a farrier on Rs. 12 per mensem.
The total number of animals shod was 136. The income from this source
during the year amounted to Rs. 248, against an expenditure of Rs. 155, leav-
ing a gain of Rs. 93 to the District Board, which was thus in a position to
raise the pay of the farrier to Rs. 15 per mensem from 1st February 1910, as
he was unwilling to stick to his post on the original pay of Rs. 12. The work
is carried on under the supervision of the Veterinary Assistant of Motihari
and is being done satisfactorily, and the public are taking full advantage of
the forge.
(7) Monghyr.—This shoeing forge is maintained by the Municipality and
District Board, the latter contributing only half of the salary of the establish-
ment consisting of one farrier on Rs. 15 and a blacksmith on an allowance of
Rs. 3 per mensem. The income is credited to the Municipal fund.
Two hundred and forty-four horses and 424 cattle were shod during the
year, against 198 and 408 of the previous year and an expenditure of Us. 331-2-6
was incurred, against an income of Rs. 217-15. Of the 424 cattle, 402 belong
to the Municipality and were shod free of charge. The deficit is apparently
due to this.
(8) Cuttack.—Three hundred and forty animals were shod during the year,
against 353 in the previous year. The income derived from shoeing amounted
to Rs. 305-9, against Rs. 220-10 in the previous year The decrease in the
previous year was due to a large amount of fees remaining outstanding at the
close of that year. The total expenditure incurred was Rs. 279-15-6, against
Rs. 264-10 in the previous year."
ITINERATING VETERINARY ASSISTANTS' WORK.
59. Table IV shows the number of animals treated and castrated by the
different assistants in the mufassal. During the year under report there were
40 Veterinary Assistants working in the province and 24 stationary assistants
(including the assistants at Howrah and Cooch Behar) in charge of dispen-
saries or who toured in the mufassal either at fixed periods or at the time of
outbreaks. The work of these assistants except those mentioned hereafter is
satisfactory. The total number of villages visited and of patients treated by
the assistants while on tour were 13,047 and 49,884 respectively, against 7,947
and 57,124 of the previous year. These are new cases only. It will be noticed
that there is a large decrease as compared with last year; this is accounted for
by the fact that in previous years no uniformity was observed in the methods
of compiling the returns. The figures now given represent the actual number