of the season available for ploughing and sowing, by the size of the cattle, and by the extent to which irrigation, especially from wells, is practised. Having regard to all these factors, it is to be expected that the number of plough bullocks should vary widely in different provinces. But, even when allowance has been made for all these causes, the differences disclosed by the census figures are surprisingly large. In order to bring out in concrete form some of the main causes of variation in numbers in this and other classes of cattle, a reference is subsequently made to the position in a few selected districts. Meantime, attention may be directed to certain other points emerging from the figures given above. If it is assumed for the moment that all the bullocks found in India are necessary, the question arises, what number of cows should suffice to rear the required number? On the assumption that the twenty bullocks per hundred acres of net sown area, which the census figures show to exist, begin work between three and four years of age, and have an average working life of ten years, it follows that there should be seven young male cattle under 3 years of age to replace wastage. The census figures show sixteen "other" cattle of which the proportion of bulls would be between two and three. When allowance is made for the fact that approximately half the calves born will be heifers, and that casualties must occur, it will be seen that the number of young male cattle available for replacing wastage is likely to be between five and six. In view of the very poor quality of many calves, the census figures thus lend support to the complaint frequently made by witnesses, that the price of bullocks was rising because the supply was not equal to the increasing demand. In any case, if it were assumed that all the bullocks now kept by cultivators are necessary, no reduction in the number of young male cattle would seem to be desirable. But when the number of cattle of about three years of age and under is compared with the number of cows, a very unsatisfactory feature in cattle management emerges. Indian cows, if properly fed and managed, might be expected to calve about once a year, as do the cattle of Europe; but it is well known that, in the conditions usual in India, calving is very irregular. We were informed that cows in this country might be expected to calve at intervals of about eighteen months. The census figures suggest that the average interval may be nearer three years than two. It is again necessary to draw attention to the need for caution in interpreting the census figures which, under the heading 'cows', include many old and barren animals. Moreover, although errors in classification do not exist in the columns for bullocks and cows to anything like the same extent that they do in the column for bulls, it is unquestioned that they may, and do, exist, and a liberal margin of error must be allowed for. But when the census figures are used with the caution that is required, they clearly point to the conclusion which was borne out by the evidence which we heard all over India, that the cow, when dry, is the most neglected animal among cattle. In discussing the management of cattle, we shall return to this subject; in the meantime, it may be stated that the census figures support the view that it is the demand for good bullocks, and the poor average quality of

cattle, which lead breeders to keep many more cows than should be necessary to provide the number of bullocks required for draught.

It should be explained that, if India were a dairying country, and if calves and young cattle under three years old were commonly slaughtered, as they are in most countries, the criticism of the relationship which exists between the numbers of the different classes of stock which has been made above would not hold good; and in the case of buffaloes, the treatment of which in India more nearly approaches European cattle management, the figures must be differently interpreted. The "adult male" buffalo of the census shares, in every province, the labour of the bullock, but the extent to which it is used in the cart, the plough, or the water lift varies widely in different localities. The requirement for buffalo bulls is small, and it is substantially correct to say that, in India as a whole, the labour of twenty bullocks is supplemented by that of three buffaloes. Wherever an important market for butter and ghi exists, it is the she-buffalo which mainly supplies it, and, in most provinces, the more substantial cultivators keep buffaloes for producing ghi and milk for their own use, or occasionally for sale. Thus it is the number of she-buffaloes, not the number of cows, that has to be taken into account, when seeking an index of the milk production of a province. In parts of India, young male buffaloes are frequently slaughtered, and the figures for young stock have not the same significance as in the case of ordinary cattle.

While the census figures for cattle in the different provinces, when reduced to terms of the net area of land sown, show that wide differences in the total number of animals occur and also show a remarkable range in the number of buffaloes kept, they do not disclose such differences between the proportions in which the several groups of ordinary cattle exist as might have been anticipated. In both Burma and Assam, for example, the number of "other" cattle, as compared with bullocks and cows, is higher than in India as a whole; but the difference is much less than the great areas of grazing land in these provinces would have led us to expect. Again, the census figures give little or no indication of the fact that large numbers of cattle are bred in Bihar for export to Bengal, and they certainly do not suggest that Bengal is not selfsupporting, but requires to import many cattle. It may be stated that, while there is a surprising difference in the total numbers of ordinary cattle between province and province, there would appear to be a general similarity throughout India in the methods of management followed by owners of cattle. Thus, the relative numbers of bullocks, cows, and other cattle vary much less than might be anticipated in a country where physical features and climate differ so widely.

INFLUENCE

SOILS AND CROPS

OF

ON

165. This general similarity in management, though unquestionably significant, is in part due to the large size of the areas compared. Within the confines of a single province, many different types of agriculture are found, and a closer analysis shows that the soils and the crops grown on them exert a marked influence on cattle husbandry.

CATTLE DISTRIBU

TION.

This we now proceed to illustrate. It is not possible for us to make the full enquiry that is called for into the position occupied by the cattle industry in the different Indian districts. This must be left to local investigators; but, as an indication of the differences that occur, and to show how easily general statements about Indian cattle may be contradicted by the experience of particular areas, we have selected for comparison three pairs of districts in the United Provinces, the Central Provinces and Madras. The selection has been made almost at random, but for each province, we have included one district with a light rainfall (from 23 to 28 inches) and one district with a medium rainfall (from 45 to 50 inches). Livestock and other figures for these districts will be found in the Table below. For a reason which will appear subsequently, figures for Lyallpur in the Punjab have been added to those for the three pairs of districts:

*In the Season and Crop Report for the Central Provinces bulls and bullocks are included under the same head and young stock of both oxen and buffaloes are shown together. For the purposes of this Table, it has been assumed that there are 2 bulls to 29 bullocks. Young stock have been divided in the proportion of 5 to 1 which is, roughly, the proportion of adult oxen to adult buffaloes, the figures for which are given separately.

In addition to Lyallpur, which, for the moment, we exclude from consideration, the northern districts selected are Meerut and Gorakhpur, both in the United Provinces.

The main crop of Meerut is wheat; roughly one-third of the net cropped area is under this cereal. Gram is also extensively grown and the area under it is about one-third of that under wheat. The chief agricultural features of Meerut are, however, the large areas of sugarcane (140,000 acres) and of fodder crops (180,000 acres). The large amount of sugarcane grown explains why the number of bullocks kept is high. The figures for the other kinds of cattle kept show that, although the land is heavily stocked, the balance is satisfactory, and the inference from the census figures and from the large area under fodder crops is that the condition of cattle in the Meerut district is much above the average level for the country as a whole.

In Gorakhpur, over a million acres are under rice and about 650,000 acres grow wheat and barley. Sugarcane is again an important crop (137,000 acres). Fodder crops are grown on 20,000 acres. A very large head of stock is kept. The cattle are much smaller than in the Meerut district; the holdings, too, are smaller, and, as in most other rice growing tracts, the number of plough bullocks kept is very large. Livestock owners in this district are fortunate in having access to grazing of relatively good quality in sub-montane tracts, and the cattle, though small, are reported to be of good quality. The conditions in the north of the district are typical of those in the better natural breeding grounds. The relation between the different classes of livestock kept in Meerut and Gorakhpur differs considerably and suggests a higher level of stock farming in the former, but Gorakhpur, like Meerut, represents conditions more favourable to cattle raising than those usually found.

A sharp contrast in numbers marks the next district to be examined. Akola in Berar is typical of the conditions prevailing on black cotton soil in this part of India. The net area sown in the district is rather less than 2,000,000 acres, but cotton covers 1,000,000 and juar nearly 600,000 acres; other crops are thus of small importance. The grazing in this dry district is of little account, and cultivators are forced to grow most of the rations fed to their cattle. The result is that cattle are reduced to a minimum. There are only 28 per 100 acres of the net area sown, as compared with 82 in Gorakhpur, and a pair of bullocks tills over 20 acres of land. Although circumstances would not appear to favour the cattle owner, we were informed that the cattle of Berar are the best in the province. They are expensive to purchase and cultivators take care of them. On the other side of the province, in Raipur, there is again a sharp contrast. A first glance at the census figures suggests that here conditions must be more favourable for the maintenance of livestock, for twice as many animals are found per 100 acres of sown land. There is, too, a very extensive area (about 560,000 acres) of scrub jungle and grass, and a still larger area under forest. Again, while Akola is almost without irrigation, Raipur has 230,000 acres of irrigated land. The main crop of the district is rice, which occupies 1,500,000 acres. Very little land appears to be reserved for fodder crops, and cattle depend mainly on rice straw and what they can find in the jungle. A closer scrutiny of the cattle figures shows, however, that the position in Raipur

is far from satisfactory. Cows are as numerous as bullocks, but they are unable to provide the number of plough cattle required, and male buffaloes are largely used. In spite of the demand for male buffaloes, she-buffaloes are few, again suggesting the poverty of the stockowner. The herds of Raipur cattle which we saw were among the worst we met with in the course of our tours, and our opinion of them was confirmed by the witnesses who appeared before us.

The lightest, and with the exception of Gorakhpur, the heaviest, stock of cattle in the group of contrasted districts are both to be found in Madras. The figures for Bellary and Tanjore respectively show very clearly the extent to which soil and crops may influence the numbers of livestock. In both districts, there is much land nominally available for grazing. Ten per cent of the total area of the Bellary district is classified as culturable waste, ten per cent as forests and seven per cent as not available for cultivation. For Tanjore, the corresponding figures are six per cent, one per cent and twenty-seven per cent. We have so far assumed that about three-fourths of the area of culturable waste and one-fourth of the unculturable waste may be available as grazing land. Even if it be granted that this estimate may be wide of the mark, no explanation of the fact that Tanjore supports about four times as many cattle as Bellary is to be found in the figures of the areas of uncultivated land in the two districts. It is the character of the tilled soil and of the crops grown in Bellary and Tanjore respectively that decides the number of cattle kept. In respect of the types of cultivation followed, the two districts present as strongly marked a contrast as they do in numbers of cattle. Bellary grows hardly any rice; its chief crops are millets (1,500,000 acres) and cotton (500,000 acres). In Tanjore, on the other hand, about seventy-seven per cent of the gross sown area is occupied by rice (1,116,000 acres); compared with it other crops are of very small importance; and here, as in other rice-growing tracts, we find a large number of bullocks. It would further appear that male buffaloes are freely used for draught, as are also a smaller number of bulls. It is unlikely that the total number of draught cattle available in Tanjore falls below 32 per 100 acres of net area sown. In Bellary, the stock of cattle is remarkably small: in all, 21 per 100 acres of the net sown area, as compared with 66 for the whole of the Madras Presidency and 108 for Bengal. It would appear from the number of " other bulls "recorded in the census that three or four of these animals should be added to the five bullocks and that the draught cattle in this district amount to eight or nine per 100 acres of net area sown.

Even the few cases which we have examined above suffice to show that great differences in the numbers of cattle kept by cultivators are to be found in different districts. In cotton and millet growing tracts, the total number may lie between twenty and thirty per 100 acres of net sown area, with from eight to ten plough cattle; whereas, when rice is the predominant crop, between three and four times these numbers are to be looked for. Where grazing land of fair quality exists, as in the sub-montane tracts of the north, it may be expected to show some influence on the numbers of cattle kept; but, elsewhere,