2
from Ranchi in the Second Year class failed, but in view of their backwardness
when first entering the College, they will be given another chance.
The
stipend vacant by the success of the Oriya student in the final year will be
given to another Oriya boy recommended by the Deputy Commissioner of
Angul. There are at present 11 posts vacant in the Districts, but it is impossible
to get men to fill them.
The re-organisation scheme referred to in last year's report is, I believe, now
under submission to the Government of India. It is of vital importance that
something should be done to make the service attractive, in order that the help
necessary to suppress the diseases which are causing such serious annual losses to
cattle owners, may be forthcoming us early as possible,
PART II.
TREATMENT OF DISEASE.
As in previous years, constant attention has been given to the reporting of
outbreaks of the scheduled contagious diseases, and although the improvement
recorded in 1915 has been largely maintained, serious outbreaks of cattle
disease in which large numbers of animals die, still remain unreported.
Various reasons may be suggested for this state of affairs ; the principal cause
appears to be the pressure which is brought to bear on the chaukidars by
villagers, particularly Hindus, to prevent them from giving any information
concerning diseases, more specially rinderpest, as it is not looked on by local
Hindus as a disease at all, but as a goddess who is supposed to take up
her abode in affected animals during the period of their illness.
The
appearance of rinderpest in a village is not, on this account, therefore, re-
garded as an evil, but as a piece of good fortune, and such being the
case, they look on any form of treatment, whether by medicine or inoculation,
as interfering with the deity.
Under such conditions one can readily
imagine that information about outbreaks is rigidly suppressed, and that
in spite of the efforts made by the Police and by this Department many cattle.
die about which no information is available at all. During the year, 3,527 out-,
breaks were reported against 3,882 in 1914-15. Out of this number, however,
only 1,631 could be attended against 2,292 of the previous year. This decrease
is partly due to the fact that Veterinary Assistants have to spend a considerable
time in some villages attending outbreaks or inoculating and are thus unable
to give any assistance to many of those which were reported at the same time.
The jurisdiction of many Veterinary Assistants is also much too large, and even
if it were reduced in area, so much time would be wasted in trying to induce
people to accept our methods, that many outbreaks would still remain un-
attended. It is satisfactory to note that in some instances members of the
Co-operative Societies have reported outbreaks of their. own accord and that in
two instances in Gaya they were instrumental in getting a large number of
animals inoculated. The future development of the Veterinary Department
and of the success of inoculations, will depend largely on the help which the
Co-operative Societies are willing to extend to the staff of the Department.
EQUINES.
Only one outbreak of Glanders was reported during the year. This occurred
in Cuttack, and affected only one animal which died while under observa-
tion.
Anthrax was responsible for one death in Bhagalpur.
No particulars are available regarding 15 deaths under the head of " Other.
Contagious Diseases."
BOVINES.
Rinderpest.—This
disease was as widespread as in previous years, all parts of
the Province except Darbhanga being affected. It proved very virulent in the.
districts of the Orissa Division, especially Puri, where 4,925 deaths were recorded ;
the districts of Patna, Gaya, Shahabad, Monghyr, Palamau, Bhagalpur, Cham-,
paran and Hazaribagh also suffered severely and in my opinion much more
severely than the figures denote. The total number of deaths recorded is, out
of 39,167 attacked, 18,851 against 23,085 of the previous year, showing a decrease
of 4,234. Although the above figures show that the number of deaths from