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PART II.—PROVINCIAL REPORT.
IV.—CATTLE-BREEDING, ETC.
748. Cattle-breeding.—Vety.
Captain Gunn continues his report as
follows:—Again attention is directed to the remarks in the Annual Administra-
tion Report for the last year. In it it is stated that it is impossible to take
active measures for the improvement of the breeds of cattle in this country
until we get a more perfect knowledge of the conditions which bear upon the
subject. At the present time we have no staff to deal with it, and the Pro-
vincial Superintendents state that they are unable to devote any attention to
the matter.
The Superintendents of North and South Punjab both regret that they
cannot devote any time to cattle-breeding owing to the whole of their time
being occupied with horse-breeding operations. The former officer states
"that cattle-breeding is carried on in the North Punjab Circle in a very per-
functory manner. Bulls having been purchased by District Boards or given by
the Provincial Government are generally allowed to run free and are kept at
different villages, their keep being defrayed from district funds. In this
manner the number of cows covered, and the results are impossible to obtain,
and no attempts appear to have been made to do so. In some districts, for in-
stance, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Dera Ismail Khan, the Hissar bull appears to
be preferred, but at others, such as Gujrat and Sialkot, prefer their own indige-
nous breeds. There appears to be no system of breeding recognised, and it
is mainly left to chance."
The Superintendent, Baluchistan, reports:—
"No special cattle-breeding is carried on in Baluchistan, nor are there any separate cattle fairs held in this
Agency. The Zemindars are not, as a rule, anxious to sell their cattto, but reserve them for dairy and agricul-
tural purposes. Cattle are very limited in the Agency, but those in the Nari tract of Baluchistan are very good
indeed. These are exported to all parts of India, and are famous for their quality, action, and working
capabilities."
The Superintendent, Central Provinces, reports that nothing has been done
in the way of distributing bulls with a view to improving the cattle in certain
parts where necessary. At present there is too much in-and-in breeding, and
this is mainly responsible for the small badly bred cattle seen on his tours. He
suggests that certain bulls should be imported, and advocates that all indige-
nous bull calves should be emasculated before they were twelve months old.
This has, however, proved disadvantageous, and the Natives of India have recog-
nised the fact. If castration is carried out early in life, the tendency is to
reduce, in all animals, the masculine characteristics such as the massive
neck and prominent crest of the entire horse. The emasculated male assumes
more or less the external form of the female, and in cattle, as well as in the
human species, the voice is affected. In Indian cattle early castration reduces
the size of the neck, and makes it thin and weak like that of the cow. Neither
the hump nor the dewlap attain to their natural dimensions, and even the
colour, which in most breeds has a tendency to become darker as a bull
approaches maturity, remains light, like that of the cow and young bull.
In addition to the special points above referred to, the whole substance of
the frame is weakened, and the growth is retarded, although when maturity is
reached the height is not less in consequence, and may sometimes even be
greater, but there is no corresponding sturdiness and power. So well do the
Natives recognise the effects of the operation on animals of different ages and
at different stages of maturity, that they study the " ripeness " of their beasts
with the greatest nicety.
If a bull has been well fed, and is in consequence well formed for his age
—well developed—they castrate him at three years old, but not sooner under
ordinary circumstances. A bull which has been poorly or moderately fed, as
is usually the case, will not reach the proper stage of development until four
years old, when six teeth are up; then the operation is performed. It is well
known that if animals are castrated too young (before four teeth are out),
although by good feeding and treatment the hump and neck are large, their
growth is not permanent, and the parts weaken and diminish too much in size.
It has been proved on the other hand that if the operation is delayed till the