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472. The Superintendent, South Punjab, attended the cattle fairs of
Amritsar (Dewali), Sirsa and Hissar, on which he reports as follows :—
At the Amritsar (Dewali) Cattle Show there were nearly 50,000 head of cattle, there
being over 12,000 in excess of the Dewali fair of the previous year. More than 9,000 head
of cattle exchanged hands than during the show held in 1892.
Rupees 1,920 were awarded chiefly to owners of animals resident in Amritsar District ;
some prizes fell, however, to the owners of Lahore and Ferozpur.
It is satisfactory to note that in spite of the large numbers of animals present, the
amount of the disease was comparatively slight.
Twenty-eight cases of rinderpest occurred, 20 of which recovered.
Several salutris, some the servants of Amritsar District Board, others from neigh-
bouring districts, attended and were deputed to inspect all the cattle.
Any animal showing signs of disease was immediately removed to a temporary Vete-
rinary Hospital, which had been erected at a distance of about half a mile from the fair.
The carcases of the cattle which died from rinderpest were cremated in a cinerator
which the Municipality has very wisely erected close by.
The crowding together at large fairs of such a large number of animals as this is no
doubt, as has been pointed out by Veterinary Lieutenant L. J. Blenkinsop, a great factor in
the spread of disease generally, but there would no doubt be considerable difficulty in
adopting measures to remedy this.
Sirsa Spring
Cattle Fair.
I attended this fair, which was held from 8th to 21st March on the 19th of that
month.
Over 7,000 animals were reported to have been brought to the fair; more than 6,000
were sold. There was no sickness of any kind reported.
On the 19th there were about 100 animals on the fair ground, which were looking well
and generally in good condition.
I noticed that there was only one District Board salutri in attendance. He belonged
to Sirsa Tehsil. As there are 4 salutris doing duty in this district under the District Board
authorities, I would suggest that in future at least two of them, if not more, should be deputed
to do duty at the show, which is an annual one.
The principal breeds of cattle noticeable were the Hissar and Bikanir breeds.
The fair was started some five years ago, and is said to have been an improvement on
that of last year.
Rupees 200 were awarded in prizes, and judging was carried out by zaildars of Sirsa Tehsil.
Hissar Spring
Cattle Fair.
This fair, which was held from the 22nd of March to 6th April, was attended on the
3rd April 1894. Judging from reports, it was not so good as usual, although better than
last year.
Twenty-four thousand animals were exhibited, out of which 17,000 were disposed off.
Thirteen or 14 cases of foot-and-mouth disease were reported, but otherwise no sickness
prevailed.
Six classes were judged by Captain Hamilton of the Commissariat Department, assisted
by two Native officials and myself. Rupees 189 were awarded in prizes.
Several cattle fairs were unattended for the reason that my time was quite taken up
with my duties in connection with horse-breeding.
473. The Superintendent, North-Western Provinces and Oudh, and others,
excepting Bombay, do not appear to have visited any cattle fairs. In some
Provinces no fairs are held.
474. In the Bombay Presidency the following cattle fairs were held :—
Sibi.—Two hundred and nineteen exhibited; the bullocks are reported
on as excellent. The Chief Commissariat Officer purchased
55 bullocks at an average of Rs. 80 each. The milch cattle
were particularly good.
Nowshero.—Two hundred and five exhibited. With reference to this fair
the Superintendent reports that it was held in conjunction with
the horse show, and that endeavours will be made in future to
encourage this particular branch of the show, as some of the
milch cattle were exceptionally good, and that it was evident
that great care was exercised by their owners in mating them
with only approved bulls.
Cutch.—One hundred and seventy-three cattle and 41 sheep were exhi-
bited, but the Superintendent was unable to be present.
475. More must be done in this direction, and the attention of the va-
rious Superintendents will be drawn, through the local Governments, to the
necessity of their attending every cattle fair they possibly can, not only with
a view of making themselves acquainted with the different breeds of cattle in
their Provinces, but also of preventing the extension of contagious diseases
where these are found to exist.