ANIMAL INDUSTRY 423 



a blood-mineral survey in various type districts of the colony. This 

 was begun in 1936 and includes a complete pasture analysis, both 

 botanical and chemical. The pasture work in Kenya carried out 

 by the animal industry division has been mentioned in Chapter 

 VI. In the East African highlands economic data show that the 

 dairy industry must include crop production for animal feed in 

 order to tide over dry seasons. Dairy work cannot be run as a 

 ranching business, except perhaps by natives, on account of the 

 poor quality of pasture. 



In Uganda general observations on indigenous cattle at the 

 experimental stock farms have confirmed the opinion that it is 

 desirable to concentrate on the breeding of draught animals and on 

 selection for beef production rather than on milk production. For 

 example, at Serere it is hoped to establish a breeding herd with 

 the single purpose of producing better draught animals for the 

 Eastern Province, where the plough has largely superseded the 

 hoe. It is also thought that breeding will have to be carried out for 

 each different locality, on account of the prevalence of particular 

 disease in different areas. Since Uganda offers some particularly 

 fine native races, such as the famous Ankole longhorn, to serve as 

 a background for selection, the introduction of European breeds 

 is coming to be regarded as unnecessary and undesirable. The 

 activity of the veterinary department in the organized castration 

 of weakling bulls in the native herds has already been mentioned. 



In West Africa, there have been some notable achievements in 

 Nigeria and the Gold Coast. African conditions with regard to 

 nutrition and disease must be taken into account in all improve- 

 ment: in particular, the extent of trypanosomiasis renders any 

 reduction in resistance a great disadvantage. Stewart (1938) 

 estimates that all cattle in the Gold Coast are exposed to trypano- 

 somiasis infection at some time or other; tsetse belts, such as exist 

 in East Africa, are rare in West Africa, but during the rains and 

 floods of August and September, the tsetse are driven from their 

 permanent habitat into the surrounding country, with the result 

 that infection of catde is inevitable. This prevalence of infection 

 makes the addition of blood from European breeds almost useless, 

 and even the Zebu can only survive in the more lightly infested 

 northern regions. Sir F. Stockdale (1936) has given a critical 



