21
The cattle were a better lot than those seen at Sirsa.
I might mention that 30 very smart bullocks were obtained by Captain
Hamilton, Commissariat Department.
The sanitary arrangements were roughly carried out as at the show at
Sirsa. The droppings were cleared daily by sweepers, but the whole ground was
not properly cleared until the conclusion of the fair.
Arrangements for watering of animals were satisfactory, an ample supply
of water being obtained from two wells on the fair ground.
There were four salotrís out of five from the tahsíls of the district who
carried out the inspection of the animals.
A piece of ground had been fenced in about a quarter of a mile from the
show, as a temporary Veterinary Hospital. At the time of my inspection there
were about 15 animals isolated there, all of which showed the feet and mouth to
be affected, although some had almost recovered. Treatment consisted of isola-
tion from the healthy cattle and dressing with alum lotion. A supply of
medicines was ready at hand on the ground which was drawn from the reserve
supply usually kept in each tahsíl of the district.
Lndhiána
Chaitchow-
dus Cattle Fair.
41. This cattle fair was attended on 23rd March 1895. About 3,800
cattle attended the fair. The cattle generally were in
worse condition than any other cattle fair I have attended;
this cannot be said to be due to want of fodder, &c., but must be the result of
neglect. The breeds of cattle were:—
(1). Desi (country).
(2). Hissár, a few.
(3). Nagauri, very few.
In spite of want of condition generally, there were many fine bullocks in
the fair which had been bred in the district. The animals were inspected by
salotrís before entering show ground, they were distributed irregularly over the
ground and the sanitary arrangements were carried out in the usual rough
method. I was obliged to leave this fair very early in order to attend a horse
fair at Dinnagar; up to the time I left there had been no disease detected.
Condition
of
cattle
brought to the fair.
42. At some of these fairs the cattle were in very poor condition, for
instance at Sirsa, many animals were looking very poor; but
this instance is said to be due to scarcity of fodder. At
Ludhiána Chaitchowdus, the cattle were in shocking condition, but in this case
from all reports it can only have been due to absolute neglect as fodder was
plentiful enough.
43. I would take this opportunity of pointing out that my attendance at
these cattle fairs seriously interferes with my other duties, and now that such
strict attention is insisted on in connection with horse-breeding it is quite
impossible to devote my time to both; in trying to do so both horse-breeding
and cattle-breeding must suffer.
My work is increasing fast—the introduction of District Board stallions,
the establishment of Veterinary dispensaries, the required supervision of
Veterinary Assistants, none of which existed to any extent under the old system
in the days of the Horse-Breeding Department. In addition to these matters
this year I have had two more districts placed under my charge, and I have also
been placed in charge of Depôt and Instruction Farm at Bábúgarh. During
the whole of last touring season, from the beginning of my tour to the end, which
finished on 15th April, I certainly did not spend more than 10 days in the
depôt. It will be quite impossible for me to hold any supervision over the
Depôt and Instruction Farm unless I can devote more time to the place than
this, and I would suggest that the time now taken up at cattle fairs would be
far better employed at Depôt. With the present small staff of Veterinary
Officers in the Punjab, whose work is rapidly increasing, I consider it impracti-
cal to expect them to take up the subject of cattle disease with any hope of
practical results.