PART II.—PROVINCIAL REPORT.
II.—MULE-BREEDING.
Donkey stal-
lions belonging
to
District
Boards, etc.
429. On this subject little need be said. A perusal of Table A, will
show that there were 10 district donkey stallions present at the commence-
ment of the year : one was purchased and 7 sold (vide Table G, page lxxi)
during the year, leaving a balance on 31st March 1894 of four donkey sires in
South Punjab for mule-breeding.
Number
of
pony
mares
covered.
430. One hundred and seventy-five mares were covered by the four donkey
stallions above alluded to, giving an average of 43.75 per stallion employed.
The supply of mares in the Punjab is unlimited, and were we able to obtain
donkey stallions, mule-breeding could be much extended.
Produce.
431. A reference to Table H, page lxxii shows that of 93 pony mares
served in the previous year, 26 dropped mule foals giving an average of 6.50
per donkey stallion employed. These figures must be considered unreliable.
Cost of feed
and keep of dis-
trict
donkey
stallions.
432. The cost of feed and keep of district donkey stallions in South
Punjab during the year under report, as shown in Table J, page lxxiii was
Rs. 116-14-1. All expenses connected with the feed and keep of donkey
stallions in South Punjab is defrayed by District Boards.
Demand for
donkey
stal-
lions.
433. The Superintendent, South Punjab, states as follows :—
A large number of these stallions is required. There is a very large demand for Im-
perial donkey stallions; on the other hand, the demand for District Board stallions is small.
434. The Superintendent, North Punjab, in a special report on the exten-
sion of mule-breeding, states that a large number of extra donkey stallions
could be employed.
435. The Superintendent, North-Western Provinces and Oudh, reports :—
On the 1st April 1893 we had 16 applications for Provincial stallions and one to pur-
chase a donkey outright. Since then we have received none for Provincial and 8 for the out-
right purchase of sires, making a total of 16 for Provincial sires and nine for private stud
work Of these only one has been complied with. The difficulty of obtaining donkeys I
have found up to date to be insurmountable. We cannot afford to order our stallions from
Italy, and they are practically unobtainable here. The few that one sees in the Punjab are
either already used at stud by private owners, or purchased as fast as they can be found by
Government. The paucity of Imperial donkey sires in the North-West has been a continual
cause of complaint for years past.
436. I have shown how hampered this Department is owing to the scarcity
of donkey stallions. The condition of those on the register leaves much to be
desired there being 79 of 16 years of age and upwards out of a total of
300. The Government of India have sanctioned an increase of 30 this year,
but I doubt if this number will be reached. It will therefore be next to
impossible to provide any for sale to District Boards, etc.
Colts castra-
ted by Veterin-
ary assistants
and
salutris
paid from Lo-
cal Funds.
437. As shown in Table K, page lxxiv, the number of colts castrated by
Veterinary assistants and salutris paid from Local Funds during 1893-94 was
as follows:—
North Punjab
...
...
...
...
South Punjab
...
...
...
...
Derajat
...
...
...
...
...
Baluchistan
...
...
...
...
...
Total
...
100
222
221
70
613
Of the above number, 19 were mule colts and only one death is reported
as resulting from the effects of castration.