(5)
(ii) Bull-rearing and breeding farms and dépóts.
See table IX.
36. Kheri cattle farm.—There are at present 311 head of cattle on the
farm. The past year has been a particularly healthy one and very little mortality
has taken place. The issue of bulls to districts for stud purposes etc. amounted
to 93 which is the record output since the farm has been started and speaks well
for the popularity of the breeds which are being produced on this run. The fol-
lowing places are now provided with animals from the Kheri stud:—Gonda,
Moradabad, Lucknow, Etawah, Sultanpur, Bahraich, Gorakhpur, Sitapur, Partab-
garh, Fatehpur, Ghazipur, Rae Bareli, Mirzapur, Fyzabad, Cawnpore, Hardoi,
Allahabad, Banda, Kheri, Bareilly, Basti, and Bijnor. These breeds are eminently
suitable for the production of the small active type of draught bullook required in
Oudh, northern Bengal and are highly valued in the rice growing lands. The
inspection bungalow is now finished and improvements and additions have been
made to the buildings. The clearing of the jungle has been continued and where
necessary trees have been planted. More land has been brought under cultivation
and some attention has been devoted to the improvement of the grazing. Some
of the work and operations have been hampered for want of adequate labour.
37. Madhuri Kund cattle farm.—This farm is devoted to the product on of the
cattle of the western breeds comprising Hissar, Kosi, Sahiwal strains and Murrah
buffaloes. The first issue of sires was commenced three years ago and 67 of the
produce of the farm have up to now been issued and are working in 26 districts
which include Benares, Mirzapur, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh, Bareilly, Lucknow,
Etawah, Farrukhabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Ghazipur,
Bulandshahr, Naini Tal, Aligarh, Cawnpore, Mainpuri, Dehra Dun, Agra, Muzaffar-
nagar, Allahabad, Moradabad, Fatehpur, Rae Bareli and Almora. Experiments
in crossing with imported shorthorn cattle are being carried out at the farm.
38. Steady improvements and additions continue to be made and the irriga-
tion plant is now in working order. More paddocks have been constructed, fencing
crected, and trees planted, and the metalling of the approach road is under con-
sideration.
See table IX.
39. There are now 264 head of livestock on the farm and their health
during the past year has been particularly good.
40. Here again some difficulty in obtaining labour has been experienced
which has retarded progress and advancement in certain directions.
(2) Equine (under Local Bodies).
(i) Horse and pony stallions.
See table X.
41. At the beginning of the year there were 66 horse and pony stallions at
stud belonging to this department.
42. Twelve were purchased during the year. Three were castrated and
sold as they were unfit for further stud work, two died and one was destroyed thus
leaving a balance of 72 on the list at the end of the year.
See table XI.
43. Fifty-four sires were at stud work during the year, and the number of
mares covered by them amounted to 3,323 which is very satisfactory considering
the present scarcity of all classes of mares on account of the demand for horses
caused by the war.
44. Regarding young stock, the progeny of the provincial stallions shows a
continued improvement and particularly in the following districts:— Saharanpur,
Budaun, Moradabad and Shahjahanpur. Some exceptionally good stock was
noticed during my inspections. The Arabs "Galloping Lad," "Kailan," "Co-
penhagen," "Mashohar," "Flying Bird," "Ceasor," "Achilles," all of which
are very popular with the breeders, have maintained their high standard and
reputation as foal-getters.
45. As mentioned in previous reports the functions of this department, as
far as horse-breeding is concerned, are confined to the improvement of the indigen-
ous horse and pony from a point of general utility in those tracts other than
the four selected districts. The past few years have been a very considerable
improvement in the quality of the animals bred in these unselected districts which
fully vindicates the very small expenditure incurred in this direction.
46. In view of the increasing shortage of horses in India brought about by
the demand made on the existing supply to meet the needs of the Army the Civil