No. 772 (Rev. & Agri-Genl.).

FROM

          THE HON'BLE MR. H. P. TOLLINTON, I.C.S.,
                                        Revenue Secretary to Government,
                                                                  Punjab and its Dependencies,

To

          THE SECRETARY TO THEGOVERNMENT OF INDIA,
                          DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE AND AGRICULTURE.

                                                              Dated Lahore, 26th August 1912.

Revenue and Agriculture.
              General.

SIR,

I AM directed to submit, for the information of the Government of
India, a copy of the annual report of the Civil Veterinary Department for the
year 1911-12, and to convey the following remarks of the Lieutenant-Governor.

2.    The regrettable continued falling off of cases treated at the College,
which totalled only 3,384 in the year under report as against 5,597 in the previous
year, is probably to be ascribed to the frequent changes in the teaching staff,
due to Major Smith having been on leave, the sickness of Mr. Gaiger, and
the death of Mr. Carless. It may also be due to the fact that, owing to the
continued growth of the city round the present site, this is not now so suitable
for practice as it was. At any rate it is now much too confined for the
expansion of the College desired by the Government of India, and a fresh
site has been selected which is much more commodious and capable of free
expansion, and is also found, as the result of inquiries made by the Deputy
Commissioner, to be much nearer to the portions of the city where animals are
kept than the present site. In a few years it will be impossible to keep any
animals in the quarters mentioned in the report owing to the great crowding
of houses. The Lieutenant-Governor therefore does not share the forebodings
of the Director of Agriculture and Colonel Pease. The present site is no doubt
nearer the residential quarters of the city and station, but that, though a
convenience to the officers, is not an advantage for a large Veterinary Hospital
and College, where highly infectious disorders are examined and treated.
If, however, the difficulty experienced at the present site in giving practical
training at Lahore does not decrease, the Lieutenant-Governor will be prepared
to consider proposals to make additional arrangements for practical instruction
at the Agricultural Stations at Lyallpur and Gurdaspur, at both of which places
the attendance of patients will probably be very satisfactory.

3.     The difficulty in obtaining suitable recruits for the Department is,
Sir Louis Dane understands, also being felt in the United Provinces, and it
may eventually be necessary to improve the prospects of the subordinate staff
by the creation of a new grade of Deputy Superintendent. The Department is
daily growing in popularity and usefulness, and it would be a pity if this progress
were hampered by any incapacity or paucity in the matter of staff. It
may also be necessary to restrict the number of paid students from the Army
and other provinces at Lahore, in order to encourage the indigenous unpaid
students to come forward in larger numbers.

4.    The number of dispensaries has now been raised to 109, and it is
satisfactory to be able to record that by next year every tahsil in the province
will be equipped with a veterinary dispensary. The number of cases treated