23 



ability of sparing no efiforts to get Prickly-pear 

 prepared for forage in the places where fodder is 

 very scarce."* * 



Of the reports published, the following have 

 been perused : — 



Belgaum. — From the District Deputy Col- 

 lector, N. C. Soman. In the experiments on 

 which the conclusions arrived at were based, only 

 three animals were used. These cattle were under 

 observation some time. In the first report (Dec, 



1899) it is stated that they were fed entirely on 

 Prickly-pear, a little salt being added to render 

 the fodder appetising. In the second (Feb., 



1900) N. C. Soman mentioned the use of grass, 

 chaff, and pulse (chuni) as adjuncts. Eef erring 

 to the experiment where Prickly-pear alone was 

 used, he stated that it appeared to be a com- 

 plete success, and that in his opinion any 

 number of cattle could be saved by feeding 

 entirely on Prickly-pear. 



The costliness of removing the spines was 

 overcome by substituting the scorching method 

 for that of Sabhapathi which involved the use 

 of special tongs and pincers ; this procedure being 

 afterwards adopted elsewhere in the Presidency."}" 



Poona. — In the earlier investigations the 

 Mamlatdar of Khed Employed people in pre- 

 paring fodder for cattle from Prickly-pear. J 



Oajarat (Northern Division). — Here, as re- 

 ported by the Commissioner, the use of the 

 plant was already known to the people, and 

 cultivators were generally keeping their cattle 

 alive at the time on Prickly-pear. An experi- 

 ment, in which a few cattle were used, gave 

 results that seemed to show that Prickly-pear 

 is a useful fodder if supplemented with other 

 more substantial diet.§ 



Nasik. — Here, as the result of the pervading 

 drought, the stem-joints of the Prickly-pear 

 were yellowish and dry. Thin and famished 

 bullocks were fed, each receiving 30 lb. per day. 

 During the first three days the ration had gram 

 flour and salt incorporated with it, but afterwards 

 no such addition was used, whereupon the bul- 

 locks gradually gave up eating it, and soon 

 declined to touch the segments whether scorched 

 or not. This want of success was attributed to 

 the dry condition of the pear as above noticed. |! 



Nevasa. — Here experiments of a very limited 

 nature were carried out, and only unsatis- 

 factory results were reported. 



Shevgasaon. — Only an experiment with 

 four bullocks was carried out. Eventually each 

 consumed 18 lb. of Prickly-pear, with which was 

 mixed 11/2 lb. of bran and about 2 lb. of kadbi 

 daily. They were fed three times per diem. The 

 thorns were removed by mechanical means. The 

 report stated that there was no deterioration, 

 but a noticeable improvement in the condition of 

 the animals.il 



• Mem. to Commrs. CD., 25th April, 1900. 



t Vid. Revenue Dept., Bombay, Resolutions 92. 

 22nd Jan., 1900, and 1331, 7th Mar., 1900. 



t Fid!, Collector, 29th May, 1900, Famine Dep., 

 Bombay, Res. 2787, 11th July, 1900. 



§ Vid. Rev. Dep., Bombay, Res. 4177, 17th April, 

 1905. 



II Vid. M&mlatdAr of Sinnar, 13th June, 1900, 

 Famine Dept., Bombay, Res. 2950, 28th July, 1900. 



K Dep. Collector, 16th July, 1900, vid. op. cit. 



Sholapur. — In this case the thorns were 

 removed mechanically before the leaves were cut 

 up. Gram flour was mixed with this for the first 

 three days to cause it to be relished. An average 

 bullock was found to need a daily ration of 40 lb. 

 of the prepared fodder. In the latest report it is 

 stated that for the first four or five days the 

 bullocks ate somewhat less than their usual 

 quantity, but after that they began to eat freely 

 and required between 72 and 80 lb. per day. 

 On the experiment being protracted, it was found 

 that the animals did not improve in condition 

 but remained the same, thus proving that 

 bullocks can live exclusively on Prickly-pear 

 {Opuntia nigricans) for any l^gth <>f time, 

 though in a somewhat reduced condition, and 

 can regain strength and be fit for work a short 

 time after they have again received ordinary 

 fodder.* 



Planting Prickly-pear. — As the outcome of 

 these experiments in 1900-1901 regarding the 

 use of " Cactus" {Opuntia nigricans) as an 

 emergency cattle foodstuff, the Bombay Govern- 

 ment, in 1901, t proposed that the growth of 

 Prickly-pear be encouraged in barren areas, in 

 or out of forests, in the Dharwar, Nasik, and 

 Ahmednagar districts, the object of the proposal 

 being to rear in land, v^^hich, at the time, would 

 not grow anything more valuable, a shrub which 

 would be useful, and also to test the possibility 

 of thus being able to improve the land and so 

 obtain more valuable forest.$ 



The proposal met with considerable opposi- 

 tion from Collectors and Forest Officers alike, 

 especially in the Sholapur district, where the 

 District Forest Officer (28th January, 1901) and 

 the District Deputy Collector (5th August, 1901) 

 were both against' it. Hence it was planted — ^to 

 test this adaptability— only at Khandish. Two 

 years afterwards the Commissioner of the Cen- 

 tral Division wrote deprecating any further ex- 

 penditure being incurred on the propagation of a 

 plant of which the advantages were at best so 

 uncertain, and which would probably become 

 an intolerable nuisance.§ 



The Bombay Government then (in 1902) 

 resumed its experimental inquiry, the firstfruits 

 of which was a report dated 16th April, 1903, 

 from P. R. Mehta, Deputy Director of Agricul- 

 ture, entitled " Note on Prickly-pear and Aloe 

 as fodder for Cattle during Scarcity. "|| These 

 experiments were carried out at the Poona 

 Farm, and the Surat Farm. In the former 

 two bullocks of the small hardy Deccan breed, 

 two buffalo heifers, and one calf were the 

 subject of investigation. The experiment lasted 

 five months. Its result is thus summed up by 

 P. R. Mehta :— ' ' The result of our extended and 

 thorough trial proves conclusively that PricMy- 

 pear has hardly any value as a cattle food. It 

 is only when given with a moderate quantity of 

 ordinary fodder that the animals can just manage 

 to live for a period of four or five months. This 



*~Vid Dep. Collector, Sholapur, 17th Sept. and 8th 

 Dec, 1900, and Collector, 14th Dec, 1900, Famine Dept., 

 Bombay, Res. 1296, 26th April, 1901. 



t Vid. Rev. Dep. Bombay, R. 3946, 11th June, 1901. 



t Vid. Rev. Dep., Bombay, R. No. 909. 12th Feb., 



1902. „ _ 



§ Vid. Commr. CD., 28th Mar., 1903, Rev. Dep., 



Res. 6th May, 1904. 



II Vid. Addendum to Revenue Dept., Bombay, Res 



No. 3396, 6th May, 1904. 



