6

5. Babu Nripendra Nath Majumdar, Assistant Director, was on
duty in the Eastern Range throughout the year under report. He spent
76 days on tour and travelled 1,285 miles by rail, 220 miles by road
and 1,671 miles by boat and steamer. He visited Barisal thrice, Chitta-
gong, Cox's Bazar, Brahmanbaria and Narainganj twice each, and
Faridpur, Rajbari, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Chandpur, Comilla, Ncakhali,
Feni, Sarishabari, Jamalpur and Rangamati once each, and checked
and supervised the work of the Veterinary Assistant Surgeons in these
places. He also attended the inspection of the Veterinary Dispensary
at Barisal by His Excellency the Governor and the inspection of the
Veterinary Hospital at Dacca by the Hon'ble Minister. He also con-
ducted an inoculation campaign in the Agricultural Farm at Manipur,
where 88 animals were protected against rinderpest by the serum simul-
taneous method.

6.     Of the two Veterinary Assistant Surgeons who were on deputa-
tion to foreign service, one, viz., N. N. Banarji, was relieved of his
appointment under the Sikkim Durbar in January, 1928. The other,
viz., N. P. Fernandez, continued to be on deputation during the year.
Veterinary Assistant Surgeon S. L. Sen was allowed further leave with-
out pay for one year to continue in the post of Veterinary Inspector,
Penang. This officer has since returned to duty in this Province.

7.     The sum voted for travelling allowance for the subordinate
Inspecting Staff is too small to meet the needs of this growing Depart-
ment. In January a sum of Rs. 1,500 had to be reappropriated to meet
the extra cost on this account.

                           Part I—Veterinary Instruction.

8.     Propaganda work was carried on as usual by the staff of this
Department by delivering lectures and distributing leaflets to the rai-
yats. In the Eastern Range local authorities continued to permit their
Veterinary Assistant Surgeons to visit primary schools in their juris-
diction and talk to the boys on animal husbandly, etc. In the Western
Range the Nadia District Board introduced an innovation by organising
a touring exhibition in which, besides Public Health and Agriculture,
this Department was represented. The exhibition was opened by the
late Hon'ble the Maharaja Bahadur of Nadia and was most successful.
Demonstration was carried on in fifteen different places in the district
and lantern lectures proved most effective.

9.     There is a scheme administratively approved for the appointment
of a Special Officer for propaganda work for this Department, but it
is pending for want of funds. It is hoped early action will be taken to
give effect to this scheme to enable the Department to make systematic
progress in this direction.

                          Part II—Treatment of Diseases.

10.     It is gratifying to note that during the year under review out-
breaks of contagious diseases were of much less frequent occurrence,
and as a result there has been a substantial decrease in the mortality of
livestock in Bengal, the total number of deaths reported being 16,066
as against 35,719 in the preceding year. Table II gives the figures
for each district in detail.