Supplement to the " Tropical Agriculturist." [May 2, 1904. 
recognise the necessity for the prompt and effective 
isolation of the isolated animal, and the thorough 
disinfection of everything likely to be conta- 
minated with the infective maleiial.— Cape Agri- 
cultural Journal. 
i - (To be concluded. ) 
^ 
THE INDIAN BUFFALO. 
Eepobt by Major H. T. Pease, 
l Inspector-General, Civil Veterinary Depart- 
ment, India, 
The Indian buffalo {Bos bubalus) is a semi-aquatic 
animal and thrives best iu those parts of the 
country- where water or marshes are abundant, a 
dally bath in a cool pool being necessary to keep the 
animal in health during the hot weather. They 
also thrive during the rainy season at considerable . 
altitudes iu the Himalayas, where they are driven 
by herdsmen of en to a height of 8,000 feet. 
They are very powerful beasts, good specimens 
measuring 52 inches at the shoulder and having 
a chest girth of 75 to 80 inches and belly girth of 
90 to 100 inches, whilst the shank measures 8 or 
9 inches. They are therefore"much more power- 
ful than the ordinary burllocks of this country, 
and are capable of performing slow" work requir- 
ing greater strength than is possessed by the cattle. 
They are;, however, unable to .work hard in the 
great h'eat of the Panjiib hot WSather, and 1 do 
not think they would" sttfHd 'severe cold'. I am 
uoi acquainted wi=th Cupe Gol&ny, and do not 
know what' the cohdi'tions tlRj^d-are, but if the 
Indian buffalo has thriv^e'd We'li tn Hungary and 
Iptffy} it ■will- probably i ds -so to' Cape Colony if it 
is not too Sbld,' • ' , . ' ■ 
a -oiilk -prodftcfeirV-: the buffdl'O compares very 
ftf^ourably with Indian cattle, and as it lives on 
the coMse sedgy grass which grows iu marshy 
Isffi'd', it^8 much appi^i'gted by "the peSple; The 
yf'dd §f_^ilk vanss'of 'eofirse with the quality of 
tli^ jii?J^&f and "the care -and feeding it gets. I 
slfoJ^^^lj that the Rooi? yiliiigfe^yi'ffalo averageis 10 
itjaij^^'gCflpffdium 16 to 20ibSM.j|fe^ the best 25 to 50 
iof rWiik daily, .wht^ iVfojl milk. The milk 
d^<*{^rom thati-of "the-pow iij^jts" chemical com- 
pMii*W.;as w411 a^- in a;^ear£^ice, taste, colour and 
the quanbity." of butter it^ontains. It has a very 
\*ldttJ eatoar and insipid tast^, and the butter made 
fi%'m it; is also white. " .She'fat»;*oo differs some- 
vt^fef-rem that' founa'ta coSraJ-milk, by containing 
silKiir'qwantities of sfUpHur aftd phosphorus. The 
CO - are milked usually once a day but occasion- 
ally twice, They remain id milk- for ten months 
tq a^jfeaf avel'ugd. ' - 
The following'is Dr. Leather's analysis of cows' 
niid jiiiffaloes' milk :— ' 
/yi! ■ Cows' Milk. Buffaloes' M Ik. 
4 a.m. 
2 p.m. 
4 a.m. 
2 p.m. 
Water .. 
.. 86-66 
85-63 
82-14 
82-13 
Butter fat 
,. 4-19 
6-43 
7-93 
7-73 
Casein- .. 
.. 313 
2-;5 
4-09 
4-03 
Sugar 
.... 6-31 
5 40 
5-05 
5-31 
Miaeral matter . 
.. 0-71 
0-69 
0-79 
0-80 
100 00 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
Prices vary according to the quality and yield 
of milk. The good buffalo cows are expensive, 
probably worth 150 to 200 rupees or more (equal- 
ling say 1 rupee = 1/4, £10 to £13 63. 8d.) Herd 
bulls are not kept for sale but can be bought 
young. The young male stock is cheap and the 
best of it could doubtless be purchased at Rs. 100 
(say about £6 13s. 4d.) Male calves of ordinary 
qualitj' only fetch four or five rupees when six 
months old. 
I fancy it would be a good deal of trouble get- 
ting a. good herd together near a port of embark- 
ation, but if the Cape Government are anxious to 
have the animals, no doubt arrangements could be 
made to do so, but it would probably be expensive. 
I do not know how the animals would staud 
the voyage. or a long railway journey. 
- GENEKAL ITEMS. 
A correspondent to the N. S. W, Agricultural 
Gazette states that having found cowdung and 
lime fail after a time to keep away hares from 
barking young fruit trees, tiied a mixture of 
equal parts of boiled linseed oil and Stockholm 
tar. This was used for painting the trees to 
about 3 ft. from the ground. At first the hares 
are said to have taken out a small piece ot 
bark from several trees, but after that left them 
alone. The dressing is reported to have done the 
trees good. Trees over half inches in diameter can 
be thus treated without damage. 
The following is the treatment recommended 
by the Veterinary Editor of the Cape Agricul- 
tural Journal for getting an old horse into 
condition : — If he is an aged animal, and may 
tiave been well cared for, he may be suffering 
from some chronic disease of the liver which may 
interfere with the proper digestion and assimi- 
lation of the food. I would try the following 
powders : Bi-carbonate of soda 6 oz. ; calomel 2 
drachms, powdered gentian root 2 oz. Mix and 
divide into six {)owders, one to be given every 
morning mixed in a bran mash. If he will not eat 
it in a mash, mix the powder in. a bottle of 
gruel and pour it carefully down his throat 
before his food in the morning. Grive soft, nourish- 
ing, laxative food. 
Lewis Wright, author of the new work on poultry, 
says with regard to the fertility of the Muscovy 
strain : — " The progeny of the Muscovy when 
crossed with other varieties appear to be real 
hybrids, being decidedly sterile inter se, though 
fertile more or less with either parent strain." 
This is an interesting point settled for amateur 
poultry fanciers who are always making enquiry 
as to the laws which govern the breeding of 
Muscovy ducks. 
To water-proof canvas, take one gallon of rain 
water, stir 1 oz. of sugar of lead and 1 oz. of pow- 
dered alum until they are quite dissolved ; let the 
sediment s?ttle ; pour off the solution aud steep 
the sheet of canvas in it for 2-i hours. This solution 
will render ordinary cloth rain-proof. If an oil- 
sheet is no longer water-proof, give it a good 
rubbing made by melting one part of mutton suet 
and two parts bees-wax. When these are 
thoroughly mixed, apply with a piece of wax. 
