13
of the following diseases were reported, viz., Rinderpest, Foot and mouth
disease, Black Quarter, Strangles and Sheep pox. As a result of the prompt
action taken by the Superintendent, the outbreak of Rinderpest was rapidly
checked and only one death was reported.
An outbreak of Sheep pox gave considerable trouble. The Merino sheep
and half-breds suffered from a severe form of the disease; a number of animals
succumbed and several of those which recovered were useless and had to be
destroyed.
75. The difficulty in obtaining adequate labour to work the Farm seems
to be increasing every year. Some reasons which may be tending towards
bringing about this state of affairs are as follows, viz., two lines of railway
under construction, three cotton mills at work in Hissar, higher wages paid
by the Public Works Department and Zemindars, the ravages of plague and
malaria, especially among the Mali class, and the visits of recruiting parties.
A number of the hands now employed on the Farm are mere lads 10 to 14
years of age, hence the work of supervision is greatly increased. It is quite
probable that at any time it may be necessary for Government to consider
the question of granting a general rise in the scale of wages. The Superin
tendent is at times very hard pressed to procure sufficient hands to carry on
the farm work. It was hoped that providing quarters for a certain number
of men might induce them to accept permanent employ; so far, however, the
scheme has not proved a great success.
76. The excellent work performed last year in the matter of raising the
level of roads, repairing and erecting walls, clearing and remodelling water-
courses, extending cultivation and planting trees has been continued during
the year under report, and the success attained in spite of the difficulty in the
matter of labour reflects credit on all concerned. As might be expected, pigs
and other wild animals continue to do damage in the cultivated areas.
In the Bir a large area which was barren or overrun with useless grasses
has been ploughed and Anjan grass seed sown.
Machinery and rolling-stock are kept in excellent order.
The buildings are old and require overhauling. A Committee will
assemble next year to report on them. A post-mortem house has been erected
during the year.
77. As the present state of the stock as well as all increases and decreases
is clearly indicated in Table XVI, it would appear superfluous to enter into
details regarding the several classes of animals maintained on the Farm.
It may perhaps be sufficient to state that there is a continued improvement
in the stock bred there. Sheep breeding is doing fairly well. The Merinos
and half-breds suffer considerably from the heat and attacks of flies. The
results of donkey and mule breeding are shown in Table XVII.
78. The annual expenditure connected with the working of the Farm
as shown in Table XVIII will be seen to have been Rs. 1,06,366-7-8;
receipts Rs. 86,857-14-3 and the valuation of stock, fodder, machinery,
etc., Rs. 3,87,652-12-1, against expenditure Rs. 1,13,639-1-0, receipts
Rs. 1,02,027-13-7 and valuation of stock, etc., Rs. 3,65,690-7-1 for the previous
year. The decrease in expenditure is roughly Rs. 7,000. The receipts show
a falling off of Rs. 15,000 mainly due to the less number of animals sold; the
valuation of stock, etc., has however increased by nearly Rs. 22,000.
If the fact that a large amount of the stock bred at Hissar is issued to
Government Departments at prices very far below that obtainable from pri-
vate purchasers or in the open market is taken into consideration, the Farm
may be said to be practically self-supporting.
79. Lieut.-Colonel Farmer has as usual worked hard and afforded ample
proof of his being particularly well suited to fill the appointment of Superin-
tendent. Any success attained is mainly due to his zeal and untiring super-
vision. He records his appreciation of the good work performed by his staff
more particularly Lieut. R. Morris, Farm Overseer, and Mr. E. MacCutchan,
the Farm Bailiff.