LIVE STOCK 

 Oxen 



THE OXEN AND BUFFALOES 



Madras. 



Milch Cows. 



Special Breeds. 



Burma. 



Well'cared for. 



Bengal. 



Sacred Bulls. 



C. Prov. 



Nimar. 



Arvi. 



and the horns, which spring close together, take a backward sweep, gradually 

 diverge, and near the extremity curve gracefully upwards and forwards. They 

 are all, even the nadudana breeds, powerful draught cattle but poor milkers. 

 [Of. Buchanan-Hamilton, Journ. Mysore, etc., 1807, i. (many passages) ; Krist- 

 namangar and Pease, Cattle of Mysore, in Agri. Ledg., 1895, No. 24 ; Kristna- 

 samiengar, Diseases of Mysore Cattle, Agri. Ledg., 1896, No. 28.] 



6. Madras, Nellore, Kistna (Ongole), etc., Cattle. The Ongole breed of cattle 

 is reared chiefly in the districts of Nellore and Kistna. From early times it has 

 enjoyed a well-earned reputation of being one of the best milking breeds of India. 

 Most writers agree, however, in saying that they degenerate rapidly when removed 

 to other localities. The valleys of the Kistna and its tributaries have a rich, 

 soft, deep black soil, and naturally therefore the cattle of such a country are not 

 well suited for hard roads, unless carefully and regularly shod. They are col- 

 lectively heavily built animals, docile and of a mild and gentle disposition 

 essential qualities for milch-cattle but sluggish in action. The head is erect on 

 a short, stout neck. The horns are short and stumpy, somewhat resembling those 

 of Sind cattle, and longer in the cows than in the bulls. They give to the head a 

 curious and characteristic appearance, the bulging forehead forming a very 

 obtuse angle. The prevailing and true colour is white with grey or black points, 

 and frequently the bulls are black about the neck and shoulders broken colours 

 indicate impurity. In point of size they are inferior to the Gujarat and Nagar 

 cattle. Other Madras breeds are the Alambadi of Salem and Coimbatore ; the 

 Baragur of the hills of Coimbatore ; the Kangayam of Madura ; the Palikolam 

 (Jellicut) cattle of Madura ; the small Trichengodi cattle of Salem ; the artifici- 

 ally spotted cattle of Tanjore ; and the Punganur cattle of North' Arcot. [Cf. Pease, 

 in Agri. Ledg., 1895, No. 7; Sabba Rao, in Agri. Ledg., 1896,' No. 12 ; Holmes, 

 Hair-markings on Horses and Cattle, Dept. Land Rec. and Agri. Mad. Bull., 1900, 

 No. 42 ; also Notes on Cattle of Madras Pres., Bull. No. 44 ; Gunn, The Nellore 

 Breed of Cattle, in Agri. Journ. Ind., 1906, i., pt. iii., 237-42.] 



7. Burma. Very little has been written regarding the cattle of Burma, so that 

 it is not possible to assort them with the Indian breeds. Red is the dominant 

 colour. The horns, when not interfered with, take an upward and forward direc- 

 tion and grow to a length of 10 to 18 inches. The neck is short and powerful and 

 the dewlap not much developed. The Burmans are most considerate of their 

 cattle, never overworking them, and grooming them carefully on the close of the 

 day's task. The animals are also well-fed, so that they are naturally much 

 superior to the imported cattle from India. But as milk-producers the Burman 

 cows occupy a very low place, owing to the prejudice entertained by the Burmans 

 against the use of milk. [Cf. Frost, Note on Cattle of Burma, 1889 ; also Quart. 

 Journ. Vet. Sc. 2nd., 1890 ; Evans, in Agri. Ledg., 1895, No. 10 ; Rept. Rev. 

 Admin., 1889-90, 47-8 ; Settl. Repts (many) : also Dept. Agri. Ann. Repts., etc.] 



8. Bengal and Assam. The ordinary village cattle of these provinces might 

 practically be spoken of as the most inferior in India. They are small over- 

 worked and half-starved animals of which little more can be said than that they 

 are suited to the climatic conditions and soils of the countries in which they live. 

 In certain localities, such as Bihar and Tirhut, considerably better breeds exist, 

 most probably a consequence of the continual importation and crossing of fresh 

 stock. In Gaya, for example, it is not uncommon to find an animal supposed 

 to have been derived originally by crossing the Indian cow with an English 

 " short-horn " bull imported in 1857. " Bihar is overrun with pols (bulls dedi- 

 cated to the gods). These are very fat, and comparatively useless for stock 

 purposes, but do much harm in eating and trampling the growing crops." 

 [Cf. Buchanan-Hamilton, Stat. Ace. Dinaj., 221-8; also in Montgomery Martin, 

 Hist., etc. (many passages) ; Banerjei, Bankipore Cross-bred Cattle, in Agri. Ledg., 

 1895, No. 25 ; Darrah, Cattle of Assam, Agri. Ledg., 1894, No. 14 ; Mukerji, Bengal 

 Cattle, Handbook Ind. Agri., 1901, 578-93 ; Imp. Gaz., iii., 77-89.] 



9. Central Provinces. The stock is often very mixed. In Nimar, red and 

 brown coloured animals prevail, and in other districts white predominate. The 

 Nimar is, however, generally held to be the best breed. It is a medium-sized 

 animal. Mollison says that it may be recognised by two peculiarities in the 

 colour of the skin and shape of the horns. They are red or brown mottled, but 

 the red is always light, sometimes almost yellowish, and the white markings 

 are never pure white. The horns are thick at the base, blunt, flattened and curled 

 over the head like those of the Delhi buffalo. They are chiefly valued for agri- 

 cultural work and as draught bullocks. The Arvi cattle of these provinces closely 



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