NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
3
45 per cent. in the number of animals treated, cases supplied
with medicines and castrations in hospital. The figures in
regard to castrations are very remarkable and are, as observ-
ed by the Director of Agriculture, of special importance,
as they show the great awakening of the peasants to the
necessity of improving the breed of their cattle and of the
value of castrations as a means to this end. Mr. Quirke,
and his staff are to be congratulated on the results achieved.
Three new Veterinary hospitals were opened during the year,
and the opening of 12 more new ones was contemplated, and
the Department is, as noted above, being strengthened to
man those hospitals.
7. Nearly 50,000 cattle died of contagious diseases
during the year, rinderpest being responsible for 30,000, an
increase of 18,000 over the figure for last year; this was to
some extent balanced by a reduction of 8,000 in the death
roll from hæmorrhagic septicæmia, but the net increase is
10,000. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the
number of inoculations for rinderpest increased so largely.
It is satisfactory to find that advanced methods of preven-
tion are absorbing the attention of the Department more
and more every year.
8. The general improvement noticed by the Chief
Superintendent in regard to the interest shown by District
Boards in cattle-breeding is a matter of great importance,
which bodes well for the future, especially if the difficulties
of the uncertain fodder supply in the Hariana and Dhanni
tracts can be overcome. The question, Government is glad
to see, is receiving attention from the Department and assis-
tance of great value it may be hoped will be received from
the Fodder Specialist in the Agricultural Department In
this connection the efforts that are being made to improve
the breed of buffaloes also are noted with interest.
9 It is disappointing to find that the various large
grantees of land for improving the breed of cattle and for
dairying purposes still need to be continually urged on to
fulfil the conditions on which they received their grants It
is true that wheat and cotton pay much better, but severe
action must be taken in all cases where it is established that
the grantees have deliberately ignored the conditions of
their grant in order to make the larger profits obtainable
from wheat and cotton. More reassuring, in view of the im-
4
portance of cattle-breeding and the improvement of milk
yields, is the reports regarding the small grants to Syeds and
Janglis in the 5,000 acre plot near Shergarh as the Director
of Agriculture reports that the animals produced for his
inspection were of a very fine type.
10. For the first 8 months of the year Mr. R. Branford,
Superintendent of the Government Cattle Farm, Hissar,
acted as Chief Superintendent during Mr. Quirke's absence
on leave. To both these officers Government is indebted
for the energy and care which they devoted to the supervi-
sion of a very strenuous year of advance in the work of the
Department. Government also notes with pleasure the
names of the officers enumerated by Mr. Quirke, in para-
graph 43 of his report, as having rendered specially good
service during the year.
11. Hissar Cattle Farm.— The year was a healthy one
for the stock but the Farm suffered from a shortage in rain-
fall and from a short supply of water in the Dabra Minor
with the result that only 2,487 maunds of hay were saved
against 62,392 maunds last year.
However by careful
management and good grazing it was found possible to re-
duce the fodder reserve only by a very small amount, i.e.,
from 154,730 maunds to 134,278 maunds, an achievement
which speaks volumes for the officers in charge.
The
demand for the Farm cattle was keener than ever and a
record number (284) of bulls were issued to District Boards.
The same is not, however, the case in regard to cross-
bred merinos and the suggestion has been made that the
reason for this is that sufficient cross-bred wool has not
so far been put on the market to create a demand and a
special price for it.
12. The Superintendent again lays stress on the import-
ance of daily milk records for complete lactation periods
and it is to be hoped that the new staff and the shed to
which administrative approval was recently given will be
sanctioned by the Council and thus make provision for syste-
matic milking and milk recording.
13. The yield of oats was very satisfactory, being more
than double the average yield of ten years ago, while the
formalin treatment of the seed resulted in the almost
complete absence of smut. The remarkable yield of over 24
maunds of oats per acre on the 125 acres of the Stable Farm
5
constitutes a record for Hissar. Interesting experiments
were also made in the planting of Kikuyu grass and the
relative merits of Lucerne (Medicago Sativa) and Berseem
or Egyptian Clover (Trifolium Alexandrinum) as green
fodder producers. New machines have enabled the staff to
stack bhusa much more expeditiously and to facilitate the
dressing of wounds and other operations on animals.
14. The report on the Farm is a record of untiring and
keenly interested work on the part of the whole staff, which
is of very great value both to the Veterinary and the
Agricultural Departments. It is, therefore, all the more satis-
factory to find from the pro forma account, recently audited,
that after allowing for free issues of horse and donkey stal-
lions and the concessions for bulls issued to local bodies,
there is a profit on the year's working of Rs. 72,487. The
Punjab Government (Ministry of Agriculture) congratulate
Messrs. Branford and Egan and their staff on a very
successful year's working.
15. In conclusion, Government desires to thank Mr.
Milne, Director of Agriculture, for a very interesting report,
and for his energetic administration of the Department.
The more widely extended appreciation of their efforts on
behalf of the agricultural population in connection with
some of their most important assets, their cattle, their horses
and their sheep, must be very gratifying to the Director and
his officers.
By order of the Governor in Council,
C. A. BARRON,
Financial Commissioner and Secretary to
Government, Punjab, Development Department.
Note on Veterinary Progress in the Punjab for the
year ending 31st March 1925 by the Director of
Agriculture, Punjab.
I held charge of the post of Director of Agriculture
during the year under report.
Punjab Veterinary College.
The report of the Principal of the Punjab Veterinary
College, Lahore, will be found on pages 29-36.
The following statement shows the gazetted staff of
the College on 31st March 1924, and on 31st March 1925:—
Statement showing the Staff on 31st March 1924 and 31st March 1925.
STAFF ON 31st MARCH 1924.
Post.
Imperial.
1. Principal and
Professor
of
Medicine.
2. Professor of Pa-
thology
and
Bacteriology.
3. Professor
of
Surgery.
4. Professor
of
Hygiene.
Provincial.
5. Professor
of
Parasitology.
6. Professor
of
Anatomy.
7. Professor
of
Pharmacology
and. Materia
Medica.
8. Professor
of
Physiology and
Histology.
9. House Surgeon ...
Name of officer.
Colonel G. K. Walker
C.I.E
O.B.E.,
P.R. C.V.S.
Mr. W.
layler.
M.R.C.V.S., D.V.S.,
I.V.S.
Mr. U.W.F. Walker,
M C, M.R. C.V.S.,
I.V.S.
Vacant
M. Karam Flahi (on
deputation to Eng-
land).
S. Hardit Singh, R.
8c.
S. Mool Singh
Chaudhri Haq Nawas
Khan.
Khan Sahib
M.
Ghulam
Rasul
Khan.
STAFF ON 31ST MARCH 1925.
Pott.
Imperial.
1. Principal
and
Professor
of
Medicine.
2. Professor
of
Pathology
and
Bacteriology.
3. professor
of
Surgery.
4. Professor
of
Hygiene.
Provincial.
5. Professor
of
Parasitology.
6. Professor
of
Anatomy.
7. Professor of Phar-
macology
and
Materia Medica.
8. Professor
of
Physiology and
Histology.
9. House Surgeon ...
Name of officer.
Colonel G. K.Walker,
C.I.E., O.B.E., F.R.
C.V.S.
Mr. W. Taylor, M.R.
C.V.S.,
D V.E.,
I.V.S.
Mr. U. W. F. Walker,
M.C., M.R.C.V.S.,
I.V.S.
Lala Amin Chand,
Aggarwala, B.Sc.,
(Hone), M.R.C.V.S.
M. Karam Elahi.
Sardar Hardit Singh,
B.Sc.
Sardar Mool Singh.
Chaudhri Haq Nawas
Khan.
Khan
Sahib M.
Gholam
Rasul
Khan.
B
2
On return from leave for two months and 26 days
prefixed to the College vacation, Colonel G. K. Walker,
C.I.E., O.B.E., F.R.O.V.S., resumed charge of his duties as
Principal and Professor of Medicine on 1st October 1924.
During his absence Mr. W. Taylor, M.R.C.V.S., Professor of
Pathology and Bacteriology, officiated as Principal in
addition to his own duties.
The post of Professor of Hygiene which has been vacant
since 19th November
1923, consequent upon Mr.
Sewell's resignation, was filled provisionally on 19th January
1925 by Mr. A. C. Aggarwala, M.R.C.V.S.
There were no other changes either in the gazetted or
the non-gazetted staff.
The duties which occupied most of the time and atten-
tion of the College staff may be classified as:—
(a) Teaching work.
(b) Hospital work.
One hundred and twenty-five candidates applied for
admission to the College in May 1924. A large proportion
of this number presented themselves for interview, and of
these, thirty-seven were selected for admission. Three of
the thirty-seven had the F.Sc. (Medical Group) qualifica-
tion, and the remainder were matriculates. The selected
candidates included six nominated students, three from
Mysore, two from Kapurtbala and one from Dharangadra
(Kathiawar) State.
The numbers of applicants for admission to the four
years' English Course (L. V. P.) since its inception at the
Veterinary College, were as follows:—
Year.
1924
1928
1922
1921
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Number of applicants.
125
94
41
56
It will thus be seen that in the past two years the com-
petition for admission has increased considerably. This is
mainly due, I think, to the Government announcement in
May 1923 that L. V. Ps. of the Punjab Veterinary College
will be eligible for posts of Veterinary Assistant-Surgeons
in the Veterinary Department on salaries of Rs. 100—10—
200/10—300 per mensem. Previous to that announcement
prospects were not sufficient to induce men to undergo the
expense of the four years' course at the College.
3
The Principal states that on the register of candidates
for employment, there are still eighty-one names of men
who went through the old three years' course, and, as men-
tioned above, he has selected only thirty-seven men for ad-
mission to the L. V. P. course this year. He has confined
admissions to this limit as he considers it would be unwise
at present to accept a larger number of men anticipating
employment under the Punjab Government. No promise
of employment is given to any one entering the Veterinary
College, but I agree with Colonel Walker that it is well to
restrict to a certain extent the number of entrants to the
College, both in order to enable us to select the more suitable
men for the course, and to avoid later the discontent of a
mass of diplomates who cannot be employed in Government
service, and who have otherwise little chance of earning a
living from the costly Veterinary education which they
would have spent their money on acquiring.
As regards the advantages of selecting the entrants, I
note from the Principal's report that inspite of the Matri-
culation standard of entrance to the course being insisted on,
a number of students with that qualification have been
found lacking in the requisite mental capacity to cope with
the course, and that this accounts for many dropping out
during the first year. Regarding employment there is little
hope that diplomates could step at once into successful
private practice; but as stated in my last year's report, I
feel that with the headway that the Veterinary Depart-
ment is making, and the rapid spread of agricultural educa-
tion which is now taking place among rural people of every
province, through the medium of school-farms, agricultural
colleges, etc., there must rapidly arise a great awakening to
the need for properly trained Veterinary Surgeons to be sta-
tioned throughout the land, and with this awakening private
practice will, I think, gradually establish itself, provided
that the men sent out from the Veterinary College have
a sufficient knowledge of their subject. People who have
seen the Veterinary College and know something of the
four years' diploma course now taught there, are unani-
mously of opinion that that course is very thorough and
up-to-date, and I hope that the time is not far distant when
the services of men who pass through it will be in great
request by the public.
The Principal of the College states that the Army
authorities show no sign of requiring recruits in the future,
B2
4
but that Native States are beginning to support the
institution, and that developments in that direction may be
expected. This support from States is a hopeful indication
of the awakening referred to above. We also hope for con-
siderable expansion in the Punjab Civil Veterinary De-
partment, and possibly in other provinces within the next
few years, as provinces are now showing signs of recovery
from the financial stringency which has so hampered their
expansion for several years back.
As regards the 81 men of the old three years' ver-
nacular course who are yet unemployed, the Principal
states that 39 of these men were trained for the Military
Department and were discharged on reduction of establish-
ment; also that seven of these are pensioners. In this
connection I may note that since the Principal's report was
written, we have employed 5 of the non-pensioners in
permanent employment as Veterinary Assistants, and seve-
ral more have been employed in temporary posts; also that
there are proposals under consideration which, if approved,
will enable us to employ a considerable number more of
these men.
The numbers of students in the College at the close of
the classes in the year under report were as follows:—
(i) The four year' English course for the L. V. F. (Licentiate
in Veterinary Practice)—
1st year class
...
...
...
2nd year clag9
...
...
...
3rd year class ... ... ...
4th year class ... ... ... ...
Total ... ...
(ii) The three years' Vernacular course ... ...
(iii) Short Courses—
(a) Post diploma class (9 months) ... ... ...
(b) Farriers' class (9 months) ...
GRAND TOTAL ... ... ...
38
22 8
9
77
7
5
18
107
No more admissions have been made to the three years'
Vernacular Course since 1920, but the 3rd year class was
repeated in 1923-24 to allow another chance of passing to
students who had failed in their final examination. The 7
remaining students of this class who again failed in March
1924 were re-examined in June 1924. All passed and were
awarded diplomas. This course has, therefore, now ceased
to exist.
5
The results of the Annual Examinations of the classes
of the L. V. P. course held in June 1924, and the Supple-
mentary Examinations held in December 1924 for students
failing in one subject, are given below:—
1st year class
2nd year class
3rd year class
...
...
...
Number of candidates
for examination.
27
9
9
Number passed.
18
8
9
These results are very creditable to the teaching staff.
Of the five men who took the post-diploma course,
two Veterinary Inspectors and one Veterinary Assistant
were in the employment of the Punjab Civil Veterinary
Department, one man came from Kapurthala and one from
Bangalore. Unless under special circumstances, Veterinary
Assistants and Veterinary Inspectors in the Civil Veterinary
Department, Punjab, are not allowed promotion to the posts
of Inspector and Deputy Superintendent, respectively, until
they have passed the post-diploma course; the object being
to promote efficiency.
Eighteen farriers were trained during the year and
all were awarded certificates. Fifteen of these men were
sent from the Military Department, one from Patiala State
and two from Chamba State.
As regards the College Hospital work, the average daily
attendence of patients during the year was 83 41. The
following statement shows the attendance at the various
wards in the year 1923-24 and in the year under report:—
General Ward
Dog Ward
Contagious Ward
—
In-patients ...
Out-patients ...
In-patients ...
Out-patients ...
... ... ...
1923-24
1,451
2,167
461
500
335
192425.
1,298
2609
417
462
375
Decrease (—)
or
increase (+)
in 1924-25.
— 166
+ 442
— 44
— 38
+ 40
6
In the General Ward in the year under report, the
decrease in the number of in-patients—most of which were
equines—is attributable to an increase in the use of motor
cars and other forms of mechanical transport. The increase
in the number of out-patients—most of which were bovines,—
is, I think, a mark of satisfactory progress of the Institution.
The Principal states that there is no obvious explanation for
the decrease in the number of canine patients, but adds that
at times the Dog Ward overflows with applicants for
admission and consequently some cannot be admitted.
Ninety-two dogs underwent the anti-rabic treatment
during the year. This is a notable increase over the 38
treated in the previous year, and is a testimony of the
confidence of owners in the efficiency of the treatment.
The Principal points out that the Dog Ward is not only a
source of steady income to Government, but is also of
considerable educational value to the students.
Certain sera are now supplied by the Veterinary
College to the Mayo Hospital and to private medical
practitioners. The demand for these is increasing.
Original and experimental investigations are being
conducted as opportunity permits and the Principal states
that although there are no very positive results at present,
the results so far achieved have not been without value.
During the year under report 170 post-mortems were
made and 160 pathological specimens were examined.
As regards buildings, Government has provided money
for much-needed improvements to the Physical and
Chemical Laboratories, also certain improvements in the
sewage system of the College have been made.
From the above it will be seen that teaching work has-
claimed most of the time of the staff. This work has again
increased since last year, as the 4th year classes of the L. V.
P. course had to be initiated, and the staff had to map out
the new classes and prepare the lectures, teaching material,
etc., for these as they developed. With no precedents in
the Punjab, such work requires original thinking, and
much time to work out the component sub-courses in all
their details.
Owing to the difficulty in finding a suitable candidate
for the Professorship of Hygiene, the post was not filled till
January 1925 when Mr. Aggarwala was provisionally
appointed to it. The students, therefore, had to take
7
Hygiene as an extra subject in their 4th year instead of in
their 3rd year as originally intended. This, as stated by the
Principal, made the final year harder on the students than
would otherwise have been the case.
The Principal states that the inauguration of the four
years' course in English in the year 1921 has led to consider-
able criticism, but the comments on it that I have heard have
been usually of high appreciation. The standard of admis-
sion, as indicated above, is now the Matriculation examina-
tion of the Punjab University or its equivalent, and as
stated by the Principal, the aim now is to produce professional
men possessing a sound knowledge of veterinary science
based on a foundation of logical reasoning: practical work
in every branch being a special feature of the course. The
fact that the course is in English, places these men in the
position that they can utilise the literature of a large part
of the world to keep them abreast of the times after they
leave College. This is an advantage of great value as
practically no current literature on veterinary science is
available to the old vernacular men. With the rapid
strides which sciences are now making, these vernacular
men rapidly fall behind. The L. V. P. course is certainly
a great advance on the old three years' vernacular one and
should be useful not only for men entering Subordinate
Veterinary Services but also as a foundation for the more
advanced studies which men must undertake before they can
expect to hold the higher posts in Veterinary Department.
But although the Veterinary College is at present primarily
a teaching institution as stated by the Principal, I look
forward to the time when in it, or under its œgis a great
deal of research work will be done. From my own
experience I feel that every teacher ought to have time
for some research work in his own subject, as this gives
life to his lectures, and instils into his students—as nothing
else can—that spirit of investigation which carries nations
forward. Also to my mind the undertaking of veterinary
research by qualified people is of paramount importance to
the people of the Punjab, and I think that the College
with its staff of Professors who have made a special study of
various subjects connected with animal diseases, its well-
equipped laboratories, etc., is a very fitting place for the
carrying on, or the directing of, much useful research work.
Indeed in the early days of the College, valuable work of
this nature was done—for example, on the disease
8
"Dourine"—and facilities for research there are now
much improved. At present, however, the time of the staff
is full up with teaching work.
The Principal refers in his report to Muktesar as the
separate central research institute of the Civil Veterinary
Department, in India, but although the Punjab owes a deep
debt to Muktesar for the supply of sera and for other help,
we have seen, for example, the classical work done by Captain
Cross at Sohawa in the Jhelum District on "Surra"—
that previously incurable disease of camels which carried
off these animals in such devastating numbers—and obvi-
ously there remains a vast field in which the Punjab
could be benefited by research on the many diseases which
play havoc to its flocks and herds. There is plenty of work
in the province awaiting the special research staff which
the Principal refers to.
The income from the College Hospital shows an
increase of Rs 1,503 over that of last year, due partly to
increases in the charges for medicines, attendance, etc The
Principal thinks that these increases may account for the
decreases in the attendance of patients in certain depart-
ments.
The total income, expenditure, and net cost (excluding
cost of buildings) of the veterinary institute (College and
Hospital) for the year under report and for the previous
year are shown below:—
1924-25
1923-24
Year.
...
...
...
...
...
...
Income.
Rs.
19,937
16.818
Expenditure.
Rs.
1,65,569
1,60,352
Net cost.
Rs ...
1,45,632 1,43,734
From the above it will be seen that the income of the
institution in the year under report is greater by Rs. 3,319,
than in the previous year. This is due to more hospital
revenue and more admission fees from students.
The increase of Rs. 5,217 in expenditure in the year
under report is mainly due to increments in salaries. Table
I on page i shows more details regarding courses, students,
income and expenditure at the Punjab Veterinary College
The health and behaviour of the students residing
in the College Hostel have been good, and on the whole
the year under report has been marked by considerable