REVENUE DEPARTMENT.
AGRICULTURE.
DARJEELING, THE 10TH OCTOBER 1912.
RESOLUTION—No. 2126T.—R.
READ—
The Annual Reports of the Veterinary College and of the Civil Veterinary Department, Bengal, for
the year 1911-12, with the Director of Agriculture's Review thereof.
In consequence of the territorial rearrangements which took place on the
1st April 1912, the annual report for the year 1911-12 deals with the new
Province of Bengal comprising the districts of the Burdwan, Presidency,
Dacca, Chittagong and Rajshahi Divisions, and also the district of Darjeeling
which now falls within the last-mentioned division.
Colonel Raymond, C.I.E., was Principal of the Bengal Veterinary College,
and Mr. Quinlan and Mr. Harris were Superintendents of the Civil Veterinary
Departments in Bengal and Eastern Bengal and Assam, respectively, through-
out the year. Since the reconstitution of the new Presidency, Major Smith,
the present Principal of the Bengal Veterinary College, has been appointed
temporarily to hold the post of Superintendent in addition to his other duties,
pending the appointment of a separate Superintendent for this Province.
Mr. Quinlan spent 32 days on tour in the districts of the Burdwan and
Presidency Divisions and in Darjeeling. Mr. Harris was on tour for 61 days
in Eastern Bengal, visiting Narayanganj 17 times in connection with the
outbreak of glanders.
2. The number of students on the college roll at the end of the session
was 110, the number at the end of the sessions of the three preceding years
being 138 in 1910-11, 132 in 1909-10 and 132 in 1908-09. The decrease
seems to be due to a falling off in the number of non-stipendiary students, of
whom there were only 9 as compared with 81, 25 and 2(5 in the throe antece-
dent years. An inquiry will be made as to the causes of this diminution in
numbers. The results of the final examination were satisfactory, the
percentage of passes being 79.88 as against 76 in the year 1910-11.
8. The Raymond Research Laboratory continued to do excellent work,
especially with reference to the diagnosis of infectious diseases and the
examination of pathological and other specimens. Three hundred and twenty-
six autopsies were made, and eight samples of bone-meal were bacteriologically
examined on behalf of the New Zealand Government. A quantity of normal
sterile horse serum was prepared and supplied to various leading medical
men of Calcutta. Two veterinary graduates from Bengal and two from
Eastern Bengal and Assam attended the post-graduate course of training.
The Governor in Council notices with great satisfaction that this institution
has not only done important research work within the Province, but has
also assisted in the supply of valuable specimens to scientists abroad.
4. The report of the Civil Veterinary Department shows that there
was a considerable decrease in mortality from the principal contagious
diseases. The number of deaths amongst bovines declined from 12.000 in
the previous year to 8,522. It is gratifying to note that anthrax, black
quarter, hæmorrhagic septicæmia and rinderpest were less fatal than in
the previous year. It is impossible to overestimate the value of preventive
inoculation in dealing with all these diseases, and the figures show that out
of 18,241 bovines inoculated against rinderpest, only 78, or 4 per cent., died.
One thousand seven hundred and fourteen deaths are reported under the head
of hæmorrhagic septicæmia, but no deaths occurred among the 2.888 animals