11

                                      Part III.—Breeding Operations.

49.     The number of stud bulls kept by Government and local bodies
increased from 201 in the previous year to 266 in the year under review.
Of these 190 were the property of the local bodies. Table VIII shows
the distribution of these animals in the various parts of the province.

50.     The number is far below the requirements of the province and it
is hoped local bodies, which have not yet taken up the matter, will
co-operate with the Live-Stock Expert by allotting funds for the purchase
and maintenance of more stud bulls, especially in the outlying portions
of the districts.

Extension of the premium bull system is urgently needed. In the
places in which it has been started by the Live-Stock Expert, it has
worked well. More Live-Stock officers are required for this work.

                                                Fairs and Shows.

51.     Tables XIII and XIV show the particulars of fairs and shows
held during the year. All these were inspected either by the Inspectors
or local Veterinary Assistant Surgeons.

52.     There are at present about 48 cattle fairs in this Presidency
where in normal years about 2 lakhs of cattle and other animals are sold
each year. These animals are brought for sale by the dealers from differ-
ent parts of India and it is reported they pay no rent or tax to any body
in this province.

53.     These melas are a source of contagious diseases of animals in
Bengal. If these can be controlled, the number of outbreaks might be
considerably lowered and thereby expenditure curtailed.

                                 Bull Breeding and Rearing Farms.

54.     There are at present 3 such farms in this province, one at
Kalimpong, another at Rangpur and the third at Manipur in Dacca.
The first is managed by St. Andrew's Colonial Homes and the last two
by the Agricultural Department.

55.     Rangpur Farm.—The health of the cattle on this Farm has
improved and hæmorrhagic septicæmia, which gave so much trouble,
has been brought under control through the adoption of the measures
recommended by Mr. H. Cooper, I.V.S., Pathologist, Imperial Institute
of Veterinary Research. A special vaccine serum was prepared at the
Institute. The Farm was also visited in February by the Animal
Husbandry Expert, Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, and the
Director of the Institute to investigate this matter and examine the other
causes of loss mentioned in Mr. MacGregor's report on the Farm, which
was published last year. They were accompanied by the Director and the
Assistant Director of Agriculture and the Live-Stock Expert and myself,
and it was decided that it is essential to have a resident Veterinary Officer
on the Farm to be responsible for the care of the live-stock in health and
disease. This necessity is emphasised by the sporadic continuance of
pneumonia in young calves and the recrudescence of contagious lymphan-
gitis among the cattle, which calls for close investigation by an officer on,