22 



after a while. lu this work animals were fed daily 

 on Prickly-pcar and dry grass, " 20 to 22 lb. of 

 cactus leaves to about 4 lb. of hill grass," being 

 the daily ration. 



At iMadura, the work was only of an experi- 

 mental character and on the lines followed by 

 Sabhapathi, positive results being obtained. 



At Coimbatore, "the cattle (under experi- 

 ment conditions) lived on the fodder for a month, 

 and improved in condition. The mileh cows 

 yielded an increased quantity of milk." 



The reports from the Chingleput and Bud- 

 wali Collectorate, again, adduce similar results. 

 With regard to the former, it is of interest to- 

 learn that the difficulty arising from the presence 

 of thorns was overcome by removing them by 

 roasting, and not solely mechanically, as had been 

 done hitherto by Sabhapathi at Bellary and by 

 others elsewhere. 



During the Famine period, 1891-1892, the 

 use of Prickly-pear was again under the con- 

 sideration of the Madras Government, demon- 

 strations of the method of using the segments 

 as fodder being conducted by ofBcials in the 

 Kurnool district. . . . The Collector at 

 Bellary reported: — "Fifty head of valuable 

 cattle, and 100 head of municipal cattle in hard 

 daily work, were for several months continuously 

 ' fed on a daily ration of 20 lb. of Prickly-pear 

 and 1 lb. of hill grass, supplemented, in the case 

 of Mr. Sabhapathi 's cattle, by 9 seers of cotton 

 refuse and 3 seers of oil cake.' " For the main- 

 tenance of ordinary cattle, the Collector stated 

 that " he had been trying to introduce the 

 system of feeding cattle on Prickly-pear with a 

 small addition of grass."* 



To further bring about its use, " Instruc- 

 tions," prepared by Sabhapathi, and dated 24th 

 January, 1892, were circulated. 



During the Famine period, 1896-1897, 

 Prickly-pear again came into use, but not to the 

 same extent as before, by reason of the fact that 

 there was not the same pressing need as in 1876- 

 1877, the visitation being far less severe. 



No one appears to have suggested this method 

 of employing the Prickly-pears of the Madras 

 Presidency in ordinary seasons — i.e., in those free 

 from drought conditions. 



Bombay Presidency. 



In the Bombay Presidency the species of 

 Opuntia (0. nigricans) is distinct from that (0. 

 dillenii) used in Madras as an emergency fodder 

 for stock. 



The Great Famine of 1876-1877 and the con- 

 sequent starvation of cattle which, where not 

 realised, was imminent, led to the Bellary 

 (Madras) method of utilising cactus as an emer- 

 gency fodder being made known by the Bombay 

 Government, to which a letter from Messrs. 

 Harvey and Sabhapathi, with whom it appears 

 to have originated, had been communicated.j- 



In the year in which this information was 

 disseminated, stock-feeding experiments Avith 

 Prickly-pear were carried ou t at Kalagi by the 



* Collector Bellary Division, in Proceedings Board of 

 Revenue, Madras, No. 836, .30th Dec, 1891. 



fFitZ. Revenue Dept., Bombay, Resolution No. 6476 

 nth Nov., 1876. ' 



Collector of that district. Sloreover, the Revenue 

 Commissioner, Mr. A. Guy, having these facts 

 before him, impressed on the Collectors of 

 both Belgaum and Dharwar (Southern Division; 

 the desirability of adopting similar measures for 

 preparing Prickly-pear for cattle.* 



In 1892 the Bombay Government again made 

 public the availability of Prickly-pear for stock- 

 feeding purposes, publishing a report on the 

 subject from the Superintendent of Farms, 

 Bombay, to the Director of Lands.f The Inspec- 

 tor of Government Farms (Mr. Mollison), writing 

 from Poona, reported favourably as to its un- 

 doubted value as an auxiliary cattle-food in 

 famine times. J 



Iij 1896, appended to its special Resolution§ 

 entitled ' ' Famine : Adoption of Measures for the 

 Preservation of Agricultural Cattle in the 

 Affected Districts," there was issued by the 

 Government another one— No. 1241. Here, as 

 the outcome of experiment, w^e find it reported 

 upon ' ' favourably as to its undoubted value as 

 an auxiliary cattle food in famine time." 



The experiments alluded to were carried out 

 at the old Botanical Gardens, Kanish Kind, and 

 were continued only for thirty-two days, being 

 confined to three animals, which were tied up to 

 exclude access to other food. Seven and a-half 

 pounds of Prickly-pear, 1 1 deprived of thorns and 

 cut up according to Sabhapathi 's method, were 

 given to each animal three times a day. A pinch 

 of salt and, during the first part of the experi- 

 ment, 11/2 ib. of mixed dal husk and bran was 

 allowed daily. This was mixed well through 

 the pear. In the evening each animal received 

 also 7 lb. of hay. During the last of the three 

 weeks the cattle received the Prickly-pear with- 

 out any admixture. Under this diet there was 

 an increase of 41 lb. in weight, to which one 

 animal principally contributed. These cattle 

 were in good condition originally. A second 

 experiment of feeding pampered milch cattle on 

 the pear was practically a failure. "When the 

 animals were fed with Opuntia alone they were 

 inclined to scour. 



During the famine of 1899-1900 the Bombay 

 Government again revived the project of saving 

 the lives of cattle by utilising the Prickly-pear 

 plant, and issued for public information a large 

 number of reports from the Famine Department 

 dealing with the facts established in the different 

 districts affected by it. It also issued instructions 

 " to press on the Collectors of the Decean, parti- 

 cularly the Collector of Khandish, the desir- 



* Vid. Revenue Comra., Bombay, 15th December, 

 1896, and Rev. Dep., Bombay, Resolution, 7th December, 

 1896. 



t Vid. Revenue Dept., Bombay, Resolution No. 199, 

 1st April, 1892. 



t Vid. Rev. Dept., Bombay, Resolution 3946, lltb 

 Jtme, 1892. 



§ No. 8939, 14th Nov., 1896, Rev. Dep. 



II In the Bombay Presidency the Prickly -pear often, 

 dies under the influence of drought. At other times it 

 assumes a yellow or brownish-yellow colour ; the leaves 

 get thm and stiff, and become almost brittle through 

 loss of water. " Hedges of this plant are to be seen 

 shrivelled and withered away," wrote the Commissioner of 

 the Northern Division of the Presidency in 1900 in allusion 

 to the famme of 1900. Aocordinglv the weight of the 

 plant mentioned as used would fall far beneath that of 

 Pnckly-pear growing under normal conditions. 



