CATTLE SUBVEY OF THE AM BITS AR DISTRICT. 13 



22. Female buffaloes are highly valued by the people owing to 



their great milk producing powers. The milk is 



on nd B| " Pr dUC " made infco S H and sold and the butter - milk used 

 for home consumption. The purchaser is usually 



the local bauia who collects it and sends it to the big cities and tow'ns in 

 large quantities. Jn many cases it is taken as payment in kind of 

 advances in cash for purchase of bullocks, seed, marriages, etc. Even 

 though the cost of buffaloes and their upkeep has increased of late years, 

 they must be a source of considerable pro6t. 



Cow buffaloes give from 4 to 15 seers of milk per diem and a very 

 fair average is 8 seers or, deducting that taken by the calf, 6 seers. 

 As 16 seers of milk will produce about one seer of ghi and the pre- 

 sent wholesale price of ghi is one rupee a seer; it is obvious that for at 

 least eight months of the year a cow buffalo is a very lucrative possess- 

 sion to the cultivator who has the available fodder. The bania or middle- 

 man probably gets a big proportion of the profit, however. 



23. Male buffaloes are used for work much more than formerly and 



the larger ones are very powerful. The Manjha 

 animals have the reputation of being good workers 



though like all buffaloes they are slow and cannot stand the heat of the 

 sun. It is usual to yoke a buffalo with a bullock in order to make him 

 move quicker. Cow buffaloes that are barren may be used for work also. 

 At one time it was customary to kill most of i<he male buffaloes soon 

 after birth, but there is a good demand for them now-a-days at the various 

 fairs for work and for slaughter, hides having become very valuable. 



24. The people take considerable interest in buffalo breeding and in 



some cases take their cows considerable distances 

 to be covered. Good bull buffaloes (malis) are 



occasionally seen but they are few in number and quite insufficient for the 

 needs of the people. The usual covering fee is 8 annas to 1 rupee. It is 

 a pity that selected bulls are not kept in larger numbers. The people 

 invariably expressed a wish to have one where none was available, but 

 the necessary enterprise to keep a bull is wanting. Consequently most 

 of the cow buffaloes are served by the young males that run with the 



