302 
Suppleineni to the " Tro/jical Agriculturiist. 
[Oct. 1, 1898. 
surplus cattle should be sold off. Tliis is being 
done to a certain extent now. Cattle Irnders from 
the lowcountry come and purcliase a good numljer 
of them, oi=])ecia]ly black cattle in this Province, 
Eppawela Korle being one of their favourite 
resorts. The sale of cattle from infected districts, 
is, however, prohibited. 
Cattle cured of rinderpest (or " salted " cattle as 
they are termed at the Cape) are genenilly not sold ; 
but whenever tbey are, it is obvious that, being 
proof against future attacks of the disease, they 
ought to fetch a much higher price than others, in 
a country where rinderpest is so common. Some 
.••pecial mark should, therefore, be placed on 
''salted" cattle to indicate t heir immunity from 
this dire disease, and a certiticate to that effect 
issued by the headman of the place to the owner, 
who could make use of it while selling the animal. 
The proper domestication of cattle is a gieat 
step towards their preservation imd improvement. 
So long as they are in a semi-wiln condition, it is 
extremely difficult to keep them in check when 
sick and to nurse and give them medicines. The 
housing of cattle combined with a little handfeed- 
ing would be an important fiictor in domesticating 
them. In addition to such treatment, it is worth- 
while trying what dishorning and the use of the 
nose-string would do as regards the taming of 
buffaloes. When thoroughly tame and properly- 
trained they are capable of more work than they 
are usually given credit for. It is not a rare thing 
in certain parts of '.he N.-\V. Prorince to use 
buffaloes for drawing carts. 
With regard to the usefulne's of buffaloes, Dr. 
Shortt writes as follows in hi.- Manual (f Indian 
Cattle: — "The sporting buffalo is much prized by 
their owners ; when the guns are tired close to 
their ears or even resting on their heads, they 
never flinch at the report and often display aston- 
ishing intelligence by seeming to know what is 
required of them. They are trained to carry the 
pack, draw the plough and cart, the latter often 
containing a load of grain approaching 2,000 
pounds. The buffalo is supposed to be a stupid, 
obstinate animal, and it is the more surprising 
that they can be so well trained. I have doubts 
of the reports till I had occular demonstrations of 
their practical training and doings." 
Cattle-owners must be taught how to make the 
most of their cattle and to get the greatest possible 
use and profit out of them. Neat cows must be 
milked. To farmers in civilized quarters this 
would appear rather a supeifluous statement; 
but it is a strange fact that, in by far the greater 
part of this Province, no milk is drawn from them, 
and the consequence is that it is difficult to buy any- 
thing like a fair milch cow here. As no «xtra 
demand is made upon the cow's milk, the yielding 
property remains undeveloped, and niiture 
jjrovides her with only as much milk as is barely 
sufficient for the calf. 
The following extract from the Oovenimetit 
Agent's Il<>port for 1896 might be quoted in this 
connection : — " Vilhigers have more cattle thnn 
they can look after, and in a great many instKiices 
I fail to see the value of black cattle, for they are 
not used in this Province for ploughing, nor ar>' 
the cows milked; the animals run wild and com- 
mit trespass." 
Breeding is another point that deserves thf 
earne«t attention of cattle-owners. Here and 
there some very good specimens both of bufifahxis 
and black cattle ar« met with. But no effort is 
made to pepetuate good species by discreet 
selection and careful breeding and rearing. In 
India, where the coiKlitions of climate and soil ar« 
/ery much like our own, distinct in<ligenous 
breeds are produced and typical specimens of go')d 
breeds fetch very high prices. Why shouhl not 
attempts be made in Ceylon too to raise several 
distinct and superior types of ciuntry cattle for 
different purposes, e^., ii draught breed and a milk 
breed both among buffaloes and neat cattle 'f \ 
good trotting breed of bullocks can also be easily 
established in Ceylon. The fystematic improve- 
ment of our native breeds by selecting among in<ii- 
genous stock will most likely redound to greater 
and more permanent good ilian spasmodic attemjits 
cross-breeding by imported nnim ds. Besides, in 
cross-breeding there is the danger of "violent 
crossing" whi;h is often overlooked by cattle- 
owners. Animals of entirely distinct brtieds liu ving 
very few points or none at nil in common do n<<\ 
produce good results when crossed- Mr. Mollison 
says in his notes on lireeding : — " Male and female 
different in type should not be mated, as the off- 
spring would very often be a mongrel, e-g-, that of 
an Aden cow by a Gir bull." 
The introduction of foreign element? in breeding 
is at best an experiment, and, like other experi- 
ments, may be either a success or a failure ; but 
this uncertainty does not attach to breeding 'by 
means of well-sorted native specimens. Further, 
the latter method is within reach of the poorest 
cattle-owners, and there is no reason why he 
should not avail himself of it- 
The castration of the " weeds " and prevention 
of immature animals from breeding are also 
essential to the improvement of the native breed 
of cattle. 
E. T. HOOLE. 
Anuradhapura, 6th SeptembeF, 1898. 
