19 



and the substitution in Jangli chaks of female buffaloes fop cows. The 

 immigrant grantee for his part adding to his stock of "laveri mal " (milch 

 cattle) by purchases of cows from Janglis and buffaloes from the Ravi and 

 Chenab riverains." 



The decrease in the Montgomery breed of milch cattle has 

 received much attention at the hands of the Civil Veterinary 

 Department, and the Deputy Commissioner of Montgomery in his 

 report has made some suggestions for the preservation of these 

 valuable animals. These proposals and others which had been 

 brought to notice will be discussed later on in dealing with the 

 extent to which Government assistance in the matter of cattle- 

 breeding can be developed or improved. 



(II). MILCH BUFFALOES. 



The value of the buffalo is becoming yearly more appreciated 

 by the Punjab cultivator, and, as this animal thrives when stall fed 

 better than the cow, it is inevitable that the increase of buffaloes 

 should proceed pari passu with the spread of cultivation and the 

 shrinking of grazing grounds. 



Before the spread of canal irrigation buffaloes were confined 

 almost entirely to the tracts bordering on the great rivers of the 

 Punjab and in low-lying flooded regions such as the Naili of the 

 Sarusti and Ghaggar streams. Bach tract produced a distinctive 

 type, the Ravi buffalo being, the a as it still is, the best 

 known variety. At present the Kundi buffaloes (so called from 

 their small spiral horns), characterised by a comparatively fine skin 

 and great compactness are considered the favourite breed. They 

 are to be met with in the canal-irrigated villages of Rohtak and 

 Hansi, and the tradition is that this breed owes its origin to import- 

 ation from the Ravi Bet. Many of these fine animals are export- 

 ed yearly for dairy farms to the United Provinces, Calcutta and 

 Bombay and even to Java. The Jamna Khadar, the Ghaggar and 

 the Naili tracts of Karnal, Patiala and Hissar produce vast numbers 

 of buffaloes, often of great size but of inferior quality compared with 

 the Kundi type, These regions are visited every year by zamin- 

 dars from the Phulkian States and the Central Punjab, who buy 

 up young stock for their own use and also for sale at the Amritsar 

 and Jaitu fairs, whence large numbers are exported by road and rail 

 to the north of the Punjab. The Sutlej and Ravi Bets also produce 

 and export buffaloes to a large extent through the medium of the 

 Amritsar and Jullundur fairs. 



As has been shown Lyallpur colony now contains buffaloes in 

 vast quantities. But as Mr. de Montmorency remarks, it remains 

 to be seen whether the homebred and stall fed buffaloes will continue' 

 to maintain the standard of animals bred in the river belas^ with 

 their larger roaming grounds and con stunt changes of food. 



