16 CATTLE SURVEY OF THE AMRITSAB DISTRICT. 



The ewes are bred from until they are about five years old and then 

 sold. Lambs are usually dropped in February and in some cases 

 again in August. The usual price of a sheep is Rs. 5 to Rs. 6. Castra- 

 tion is not practised. Sheep are generally clipped twice a year after 

 washing. The wool sells for about 1 to 1J seers per rupee. Very few 

 sheep of the ( desi ' variety give more than a seer at each clipping. 



Sheep skins are sold for about one rupee each to wandering mer- 

 chants who take them to Lahore or Amritsar where they are made into 

 shoes and other leather articles including ' mashaks' (water skins). Sheep 

 pick up what they can, leading a parasitic existence. There are no sheep 

 pastures. 



The time has not yet arrived for sheep breeding to be taken up 

 seriously in the plains and in any case irrigated districts like Amritsar 

 would not be suitable to the industry. Systematic sheep breeding may 

 eventually be taken up in suitable tracts both lor wool and meat and 

 is deserving of every encouragement as there is room for great improve- 

 ment. 



31. The decrease in the number of goats is a very notable feature 

 of the last census. This is due partly to the mor- 

 tality in the autumn of 1908 referred to above and 



partly to the increasing difficulties experienced in keeping them. .The 

 cultivators keep very few goats themselves and the " kamina " find it 

 Difficult to obtain sufficient pasturage as they are not generally 

 allowed to take them into the fields. The goats found in the Amritsar 

 District are of the usual ( desi ' variety, and are black, white, black and 

 tan, black and white or white and tan in colour. A large number of 

 goats are kept in Amritsar City and their milk is so Id from house to house. 

 It is regarded as being especially suitable for children. A good goat will 

 give 3 seers of milk a day. The males and females are sold to butchers 

 and others and fetch Rs. 5 to Rs. 7 each. Good female goats sell for as 

 much as Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 and males for the stud for Rs. 20 to 25. 



Goats are generally clipped in the spring and the hair is used to 

 make ropes, saddle bags and a coarse cloth called ' Tappar.' Goats skins 

 fetch about Rs, 1-8 each and are chiefly used to make ' mashaks ' which 



