( 13 )
The value of raw material in stock was estimated at the actual market rates.
Since the 1st April no milk has been purchased from outside sources, and to this
cause is chiefly owing the unfavourable financial result of the year. It is obvious
that when milk is purchased at 12 sérs for the rupee and is subsequently sold at
eight sérs, either as milk or in the shape of butter, without any deduction on account
of feeding, the profits must be greater than when the milk is obtained from animals
belonging to the farm, which of necessity must be stall-fed. I calulate the loss in
this way to amount to Rs. 3,612.
The mortality during the year amongst the cattle was unfortunately very high,
sixty-seven animals valued at Rs. 1,320 having died. I will refer to this subject latter
on.
8. General remarks.—In the preceding paragraph I referred to the high mor-
tality amongst the cattle, 67 animals having died during the year. Of these 31 were
lost during the epidemic of rinderpest which unfortunately broke out early in Decem-
ber. How this disease was introduced into the herd I am at a loss to explain, as the
cattle are kept only on the asylum grounds or at the district jail, where they do not
mix with other animals. Possibly it was introduced into the asylum through the
bhusa, which has of course to be purchased from surrounding villages. Immediately
upon the disease breaking out I adopted the following measures:—
(1) The dry cattle were sent to the district jail and kept there night and day.
(2) The sheds were evacuated and the cattle tethered in the open.
(3) Every animal was carefully watched, and, upon the first sign of indisposi-
tion, it was at once segregated in the female enclosure.
(4) As soon as the disease was discovered, the animal was at once transferred
to the most remote part of the asylum, where I had established a tem-
porary hospital.
(5) Every part of the shed, including the roofs, walls and floors was thoroughly
washed, scrubbed and scraped, and then thoroughly disinfected.
(6) The staff attending to the infected animals were also segregated.
(7) The excrement of affected animals was burnt, also bedding used by them,
and the dead cattle were buried instead of being sold to chamárs.
The effect of these measures was soon apparent. The first case was admitted
on the 6th and the last on the 21st of December. Forty animals in all were attacked ;
of these, thirty died in December and one in January 1900, and nine recovered.
Thirty-seven other animals died during the year, but as these deaths were distributed
amongst the other 11 months, it is clear they died from other causes than rinderpest,
but what these causes were I am unable to say.
In my report for last year I proposed that a Veterinary Assistant should be
attached to the dairy. Acting upon this suggestion it was decided in July that
the Veterinary Assistant in the service of the District Board should be available
whenever required. Upon the outbreak of the epidemic in December, therefore,
I ordered this man to bo sent for, but found that he was not available, as he had
been transferred to Gorakhpur and his successor had not yet arrived. The latter
visited the dairy on the 21st. He diagnosed the animals to be suffering from
dysentery, a diagnosis which did not in my opinion show a very extensive
acquaintance with the diseases of cattle, particularly as it was made in my presence,
after the most cursory examination. Fortunately at this time Veterinary Lieu-
tenant Walker of the Bacteriological Laboratory at Muktesar was passing through the
station, and at my request he very kindly visited the dairy on the 23rd December.
He diagnosed the disease as rinderpest and at once undertook to inoculate the
animals. I append his report, which is of great interest. The following is a summary
of his work :—
Fifty-nine milch cattle were inoculated with serum alone; 68 dry cattle and
young stock were inoculated simultaneously with serum and virulent blood ; 2 dry
cows were inoculated as controls with virulent blood alone ; and 3 working bulls
belonging to the jail were inoculated with glycerinated bile; 86 calves at the
4