F. WARE 63
is then little more than an exercise ground. In the cold season animals graze
on the crop stubbles, and may receive a supplement of straw or hay, but during
the hot weather until the break of the rainy season the supply of fodder
gradually diminishes and the feeding of stock becomes very difficult.
Secondly, cattle breeding is mostly in the hands of small farmers who are
poor and illiterate. According to the Report on a Village Enquiry [I], which
records the results of an intensive survey in selected breeding tracts, the aver-
age size of holdings in different parts of the country varies between 7 and 23
acres. These small areas have to support 6-9 persons and 3-7 head of cattle
each. Such small farmers are naturally unable to invest capital in pedigree
stud animals, and there has been a tendency to rely on quantity rather than
quality, as an insurance against such cattle plagues as rinderpest and haemorr¬
hagic septicaemia, which have visited the country periodically in the past and
carried off large numbers of animals.
Thirdly, the cow is a sacred animal to the Hindu. According to the
Vedas, she should not be slaughtered, but allowed to live after her economic
period is over and die a natural death.
In many parts of India these different factors are leading to a very serious
situation. Not only is the result of overstocking seen in the shortage of food,
but it is also one of the major causes of soil erosion, as Gorrie [2] wrote in 1937 :
' In much of India the last vestiges of shrub growth already form the ordinary
daily ration for the village herd. The amount of erosion caused directly through
this state of affairs has to be seen to be believed.'
THE RECOGNIZED BREEDS OF INDIAN CATTLE
The foregoing paragraphs draw rather a sorry picture of the general state
of cattle in India, and the impression gained by casual visitors to this country,
who judge the position by the cattle they see from the train, is usually much
the same. It appears also that little is generally known outside India regard-
ing the different breeds that are included under the generic term of Indian
Zebu or Brahman cattle, and it is, therefore, of interest to record that the latest
attempt to enumerate these has resulted in the compilation of a list containing
28 breeds of cattle, covering a wide range of size, colour, and capability, in
addition to 7 breeds of buffaloes.
It should be stated at once that there is a vast gulf between the capabili-
ties of these animals and the ordinary village cattle, and it is proposed to show
how these recognized breeds, which have already acquired a big reputation
in tropical countries by reason of their drought-resisting qualities and ability
to withstand attack by the major cattle plagues and tick-borne diseases,
respond to better feeding and management, and what marked success has
already been obtained in those breeds which have so far been selected for
development.
Before doing this, however, something must be said of the physical
characteristics of Indian cattle, as compared with other Zebus, and an attempt
made to answer some of the questions raised by Curson and Thornton [3]
in their study of the African Native Cattle. These authors suggest that the
humped cattle of Africa may be provisionally classified into true Zebus (Asiatic
in origin) and pseudo-Zebus (African in origin). The first class is again
E 2