2

the nearest Veterinary Assistant. As these instructions do not seem to have had suffi-
cient effect, I am now suggesting to District Officers that they should send a circular
to panchayats instructing them when cattle disease breaks out in a village to imme-
diately send information by post card or otherwise to the Veterinary Assistant.

Fortunately, there is now scarcely any part of the province where the people
object to having their cattle inoculated, and it is much to the credit of the Department
that where its officers have been working for the longest time there they are most
appreciated.

6.  It is to be regretted that the returns of mortality from contagious diseases,
contained in table II of the report, are very far from being reliable. They are based
mainly on annual returns compiled by police officers and, as the forms are in English
and contain no instructions for distinguishing the various diseases, it is not surprising
to find that the figures returned have often but little relation to facts. I should like
to support the recommendation made by Mr. Harris that quarterly returns should be
submitted instead of annual return's. This would give an opportunity for the district
Veterinary Assistant to check them by local enquiry, and if there has been heavy and
previously unreported mortality from disease, to ascertain why his services were not
requisitioned in due time. I have also asked the Superintendent to draft new
forms, in which the names of contagious diseases will be given in vernacular, and
supplemented by brief foot-notes describing the chief distinguishing symptoms of each.

7.  Under the special instructions of Sir Lancelot Hare, two Veterinary Assistants
have been employed since May 1907 in attending to the tonga ponies and cattle work-
ing on the Shi Shillong-Gauhati cart road. This measure has greatly reduced the amount
of disease among the ponies and diminished the suffering from wounds and galls.
Now that the motor service is running more regularly, there will be less overworking
of the ponies, and their general condition should improve still further.

8.  Unfortunately, the strength of the Department can only expand at the rate of
between twelve and twenty men a year, so it will be a long time before the sanctioned
cadre is complete. Meantime, the Department has to make up in energy for what it
lacks in numbers. Thanks to the excellence of the training imparted at Belgachia
Veterinary College, we have every reason to be satisfied with the recruits who are
joining the service. Mr. Harris is to be complimented on the energy and care with
which his first year's work in the province has been performed and on the general zeal
and ability of his subordinate staff.

                                                                           I have the honour to be,
                                                                                         SIR,
                                                                         Tour most obedient Servant,
                                                                                   S. G. HART,
                                                  Director of Agriculture, Eastern Bengal and Assam.