Annual Report of the Civil Veterinary
Department,
United Provinces, 1913-14.
1. The administration report of the department for the year ending March
the 31st, 1914, is herewith submitted.
2. I was on leave up to November the 3rd, 1913, on return from which I
held the charge of the department throughout the rest of the year.
Mr. C. W. Wilson, 2nd Superintendent, officiated as Superintendent during
my absence in addition to his own duties.
3. I was on tour for 46 days, and travelled 219 miles by road and 9,858 miles
by rail. I toured in 12 districts, where I made inspections of veterinary hospitals
and dispensaries, district stallion stands, and other departmental institutions.
Several visits were made to the stallion dépôt at Moradabad, the bull farm at
Kheri, and the site for the new cattle farm which is being established at Muttra.
Stud bulls, young equine and bovine stock were inspected, as well as the
experimental flocks of sheep located in various parts of the province. As far as
was possible, the work of veterinary assistants and inspectors was checked and
supervised, and horse and cattle fairs attended. I inspected the ponies of the
tonga lines, and the working bullocks in some of the important municipalities.
Personal visits were made, and investigations carried out, in outbreaks of
contagious disease, and where possible, preventive inoculations were supervised.
I attended the All-India Agricultural Conference at Coimbatore and visited
Bombay for the purchase of Arab stallions.
4. Mr. C. W. Wilson was on tour for 137 days, during which time he
travelled 1,281 miles by road and 13,001 by rail. His tours ranged in 26 districts,
where the work of the subordinate staff was supervised and checked, and the
hospitals and dispensaries inspected. Most of the stallion stands were inspected
by him as well stud bulls and sheep-breeding operations. He attended the cattle
fairs at Khairabad, Fyzabad, and Hardoi, acting as judge and member of the
committees. He examined the ponies of most of the tonga lines, and visited
courts of wards and other estates to advise on the cattle-breeding question ; and in
April was deputed to Lahore to act on the board of examiners at the Punjab
Veterinary College. He personally attended 17 outbreaks of contagious equine
and bovine disease, conducting research operations in connection therewith, and
acted as member of the conference held at Etawah to deal with the question of
cattle-grazing.
5. The Deputy Superintendent, M. Niaz Mohamad, was on tour for 137 days,
during which time he visited 17 districts. He attended cattle shows and
agricultural exhibitions at Dewa, Batesar, Aligarh, Etawah, Bulandshahr, and
Saharanpur, and demonstrated veterinary methods to the stock-owners. He was
deputed to the Naini Tal-Ranikhet road to deal with an outbreak of surra, and
purchased cattle for the department in the Hissar district. He visited most of
the stallion stands for the purpose of instructing the attendants in the correct
methods of dealing with stallions, for stud work, and assisted the superintendents
generally in inspections of veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, and the subordinate
staff. It was necessary for him to spend some time at the cattle farms in
connection with selection, branding, and registering of the animals.
I.—VETERINARY INSTRUCTION.
6. Up to the present there has been no veterinary college or school in
connection with these provinces, which have hitherto either been dependent on
other provinces for their recruits, or have found it necessary to send their own
selected candidates to the colleges at Bengal or Lahore for veterinary training.
As there appears to be some reluctance on the part of students to go a long
distance into another province for study, some difficulty is experienced in
obtaining suitable candidates. It is now considered that the time has come for an
institution for the training of our own veterinary assistants, and the establishment
of a veterinary college in these provinces is under consideration.