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                            PART II.-PROVINCIAL REPORT

                                        MULE-BREEDING.

Donkey stalliona
belonging to
District
Boards, &c.

792. Mule-breeding by Provincial or District Board Agency exists to a
very small extent. The following summary abstracted from Table J. will show
exactly how many donkeys are employed:—

793. For some time to come, at all events, mule-breeding must be looked
upon as purely Imperial. The strain on District Board funds has been so great
owing to famine that it has been with difficulty that the necessary number of
ponies have been kept up. It would, therefore, have been futile to expect District
Boards to pay any attention to the provision of donkey stallions.

Cost of feed and
keep of district
donkey
stallions.
Demand for
donkey stallions.

794.    Table K. will show the cost of feed and keep per donkey stallion
employed by District Boards, &c.

795.    The demand for donkey stallions mainly exists in the Punjab. On
this point the Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, North Punjab,
states :—

I must refer to last year's remarks on this subject in which Mr. Turnbull said he considered mule and donkey-
breeding is better left in the hands of the Imperial Government, as every effort is made to supply donkeys where
required, and so long as they are supplied it does not matter to whom they belong and no special advantage can
be derived from the maintenance of them by District Boards.

796.    The Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, South Punjab,
states :—

One donkey stallion, an Italian, belonging to the Mamdot Estate, in the Ferozepore district, was in great demand,
and did good work because he was a very fine donkey. The direction in which District Boards might much improve
the mule-breeding industry would be in providing good Jacks to Lambardars, headmen of villages, and others who
would be willing to keep them; in this way a great many more small mares would be used for mule-breeding, but
the Jacks would have to be good ones and as big as possible; it would be little use supplying small ones.

797.    I agree that the question of the supply of donkeys should be left to
the Imperial Government as District Boards cannot be expected to do more than
they are doing at present in providing ponies, still the number supplied from
Imperial funds is not sufficient owing to the great demand for mules. The
proposal made by the Superintendent, Civil Veterinary Department, South
Punjab, to place donkeys in the hands of Lambardars is one which meets with
approval, and I have already addressed the Government of India on this subject,
still I fear, that for the reasons above given, the cost will have to be borne by
Imperial funds.

798.    The difficulty which will arise in this connection is that of providing
the Jacks; they should be good and at the same time cheap. The indigenous
supply is not equal to the demand, and the only source from which donkeys
answering to the above description can be obtained is Cyprus, as their cost is
only about Rs. 400. I trust that the supply from this island will be equal to
our demand.

799.    Although the Punjab may be said to be the Province mainly interested
in the supply of donkey stallions by District Boards, still more might be done
provincially in the North-Western Provinces. On this subject the Superintendent,
Civil Veterinary Department, states :—

Three applications remained uncomplied with at the beginning of the year; 2 were received and none were
supplied. Thus 5 applications remained uncomplied with at the end of the year,

The reason was no doubt due to want of funds.