Umarda breed.

155. The Umarda breed is divided into two well defined types which are said to differ in colour only. The colour preferred depends upon the taste of the village cultivators. One village swears by white and purchases and breeds white animals in preference to any other colour; another village prefers red. Mixed colours arising from crossing are not liked. The Umarda bullock is of medium size and is white or red in colour. The body is compact; the head is well placed and broad between the eyes; the forehead is slightly concave, the horns are of medium size; the muzzle is broad and usually dark in colour; the nostrils are large; the neck is short and thick with a rather small dewlap; the back is straight and the hump of ordinary size. The animal is well proportioned, active and keen-spirited. The breed is very hardy, and a pair will trot from 30 to 40 miles a day. Cattle of this breed are common in Amraoti, Ellichpur, Daryapur and Chandur taluks. A pair of Umarda bullocks will fetch from Rs. 125 to Rs. 200.

Khamgaon breed.

156. Khamgaon cattle are seen mostly in Daryapur taluk work. The Khamgaon is the largest and strongest of the Berar breeds, and is therefore well suited for heavy work on black cotton soil. The typical Khamgaon bullock is a big bony animal with a coat of mixed colours; the general colour is red or tanned red mixed with white, the red generally occurring in round spots which give the animal a mottled appearance. His hoofs, muzzle, horns and inside of the ears are of a chocolate colour; forehead is broad and slightly convex, the muzzle fine and the hump well developed; horns are of medium length and rather thick at the base. When allowed to grow naturally they grow straight out almost in a line with the forehead with an expansion of about 2½ feet. But the owner almost invariably alters their curvature by cutting slits in them near the base when the animal is still young. The slit is cut round the outside of the base of the horn, so as to make them curve round over the top of the head, so that the distance between the horns at the points and the base is about the same. At times this operation is carelessly carried out with the result that the horns become quite unsymmetrical. The height of a good Khamgaon bullock is 52 inches behind the hump; his length from head to tail is about 6 feet, and his girth about the same. He is round in the barrel and altogether a strong, massive animal. For that reason he used to be much in favour in the army for transport or battery purposes. As a trotter he is inferior to the smaller but more active Umarda bullock, and his hoofs are softer and do not stand the tear and wear of the road so well, of which fact the light colour of the hoofs is an indication. The Kunbi cultivator, who prefers the smaller but hardier breeds, speaks derisively of Khamgaon cattle as the pochat breed, by which he means the breed that cannot stand fatigue. As a strong draught animal he is particularly well suited for areas where the soil is heavy to work. A pair of Khamgaon bullocks costs from Rs. 150 to Rs. 250.

Melghat and other breeds.

157. The smallest breed of the District is the Melghat or Pahari breed. The Melghat bullock is a hardy, active animal particularly well suited for the conditions of that hilly tract. They vary much in colour, but the predominant colours are red, white, and mixed red and white. The forehead is straight with a vertical depression midway. The limbs are strong and well apart. The pelvis is rather lean and narrow and the dewlap small. When purchased young and brought to the plains where they are well fed, bullock's of this breed attain to a larger size than they do in their native hills. A pair of these bullocks will fetch from Rs. 80 to Rs. 150. In addition to these, cattle of many other breeds are imported into Berar, such as Arvi cattle from Wardha and Malwis from the Hoshangabad side, and much inter-breeding has gone on, more especially between the Arvi cattle and the Umarda breed.

Deterioration and scarcity of cattle.

158. It is often stated that the cattle of this and other Districts of Berar have both deteriorated and become much more costly within the last forty years. This has not been definitely proved. There are still good cattle all over Berar and the prices do not seem to have risen much within the last four decades. In the Berar Gazetteer of 1870 the prevailing prices at that time were stated to range from Rs. 115 to Rs. 132 per pair. At the present time the price of an average pair of Umarda bullocks would be between Rs. 120 and Rs. 150. The fact remains, however, that at the present time cultivators in Berar are doing very little to improve their cattle. The ordinary ryot feeds his working bullocks fairly well, but neglects his cows and young stock, which for the greater part of the year subsist on the dry and unnutritious grass of the grazing areas. No selection is made of breeding bulls; the cows of the village herd are allowed to be covered by immature and inferior bulls. That old custom of keeping Brahmani bulls in the villages which was so common in former days, and which helped to maintain the quality of the stock, has fallen somewhat into disfavour, consequent on the great amount of mischief done by these privileged animals to the village crops. The only large stock owners and breeders of this District are the Gaolis of the Melghat, whose aim is to rear as many animals as possible, rather than to improve any particular breed by careful attention to selection. There are no important cattle shows held in the District by means of which a taste for cattle breeding and rearing could be encouraged.

Cattle rearing.

159. Ever since the beginning of the great boom in cotton cultivation, more and more of the waste land formerly available for pasture has been brought under cultivation, and the cultivator has, in consequence, been compelled to reduce the number of his cattle and to provide a daily supply of fodder for his working bullocks. In 1870 there were in the District 12 bullocks, 12 cows and 4 buffaloes for every hundred acres of cultivated land as compared with 9 bullocks 5 cows and 2 buffaloes, respectively, at the present time. It is undoubtedly the case that here as in other parts of Berar, the demand for working bullocks now exceeds the local supply, and that breeders from the Nerbudda valley, Wardha, Khandesh and the Nizam's dominions, are finding a ready sale for their bullocks at good prices in Berar markets. This is as it should be; the cultivator of Amraoti under present conditions finds that it pays him better to cultivate cotton than to rear cattle, and it is questionable whether any system of land administration could be devised which would enable him to rear all his own cattle with profit to himself while the price of cotton remains as high as it is.

Cattle-breeding.

160. Cows are kept for breeding, rarely for producing maximum yield of a good cow being about three seers a day; but the ordinary animal does not give enough milk to nourish her calf properly. The price of a cow varies from Rs. 10 to Rs. 40. Nowadays the ryot finds it difficult to rear cattle. If within reach of forest grazing areas he gets a permit from that Department and sends his cows and young stock there in March for grazing. There they remain under the charge of graziers who charge a fixed rate per head. In October they are brought back again to his village to subsist for the remaining six months on whatever grass they can pick up. For the whole period of twelve months the feeding is poor and is certainly not conducive to the improvement of the breed. The principal breeding ground of the District is the Melghat. Here there is some grazing in the jungle all the year round, though water is scarce in the dry weather. The breeders of the east and centre of the taluk have commonly to drive their herds north to the Tapti valley in the hot season. The chief breeders are Gaolis, though there are also herds owned by the local Korkus and by Banias, Kalars, Telis and Muhammadans from the Khandwa side, many of whom have settled in the Dharni circle in the Tapti valley. Grazing being plentiful and cheap, cattle-breeding is a paying industry in that tract. The grazing dues paid to the Forest Department are 6 annas per head per annum for herds belonging to large graziers and half that sum for those of cultivators. During the day herds of about 200 cows may be seen grazing under the charge of one or two graziers, and at night they are driven to an open place in the jungle where the grazier has his hut, and where they rest in safety, as no tiger or panther will usually attack any animal of a combined herd. The calves, except in rare cases, get all the milk. No serious attempt is made to improve the breed, the cows get nothing but the comparatively dry and unnutritious grass which they pick up, and are allowed to be covered by any one of the three or four inferior bulls with the herd. The male calves when about a year old are sold in the plains of Berar or in the Nimar District. The chief markets for Melghat cattle are Ellichpur, Bairam and Dharni.

Grazing areas.

161. The want of sufficient grazing land is one of the greatest difficulties with which the cultivators of the District have to contend. On paying the necessary fees cattle owners can send their cattle to C class forest, i.e., grazing ground set apart for this purpose; but the area is very inadequate. The northern parts of the Morsi, Ellichpur and Daryapur taluks, the western part of Chandur and the eastern part of Amraoti taluk take advantage of some larger forest blocks; but in the rest of the plain portion of the District the area for grazing is confined to the few acres of waste land and to the narrow strips of uncultivated land that form the borders of fields. These strips locally known as dhuras have under the stress of competition been gradually brought under cultivation and are now too narrow to be of much value. The pasture lands and forests of the plain taluks are in consequence much over-grazed.

Working life of a bullock.

162. Bullocks are put to easy work when three years of age; after the age of four they are able to do full work. The working life of a bullock varies from twelve to sixteen years, according to the kind of treatment it gets. Bullocks kept steadily at well work last a much shorter time than those kept for dry-crop farming. For well irrigation a pair is not supposed to last for more than five or six years if worked continuously.

Buffaloes.

163. There are two breeds of buffaloes in the District, the Gaorani or Nagpuri breed, and the Malwa breed. The former are distinguished by their long horns that sweep back over the neck; the Malwa breed is smaller and their horns shorter and slightly crumpled. Buffaloes are kept by Gaolis for the production of milk and ghi. Herds of from 60 to 80 are kept in the Satpuras. In towns where they are kept for milk, they are fed on juari stalks and cotton seed-one cow buffalo being allowed from two to three seers of cotton seed daily. Male buffaloes are but little used for draught purposes, and the bull calves are therefore neglected and many of them die before coming to maturity. The price of a good cow buffalo is Rs. 75.

Ponies.

164. The Berar ryot has no taste for pony breeding, the ordinary pony seen in the villages being a poor specimen. The well-to-do ryot prefers to travel in a cart or rengi drawn by bullocks. The price of a good pony is about Rs. 50.

Donkeys.

165. The local donkey is of a very small but hardy breed, and varies in price from Rs. 7 to Rs. 25 each. The milk is not commonly drunk, but is sometimes given to children as it is supposed to be very digestible. Mule breeding is not practised.

Sheep, goats and pigs.

166. Sheep are kept only by the Gadaria or shepherd caste. Herds of goats are kept by this and other low castes of Hindus and by Muhammadans. The three breeds of sheep are the Taperkane, the Batkane and the Fulkane. The Taperkane sheep has long ears and is generally jet black in colour, while the Batkane breed has small ears and is generally mixed black and white. The Fulkane breed is said to be a cross between the other two. They have reddish brown ears with white tips. Sheep are kept for the production of wool and mutton. The wool which is used for making coarse blankets is shorn annually in the cold weather, the weight of each fleece bring from one to one and a half pounds. Goats are principally reared by Dhangars for their flesh and milk. Pigs are kept by Gonds and Gowaris who consider pork a luxury.

Diseases.

167. Epidemics among cattle are very common, and as no care is taken to segregate diseased animals at the first appearance of an outbreak, infection spreads fast in a herd. The diseases most prevalent in the District are rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, malignant sore throat and pleuro-pneumonia. Other bovine ailments such as hoven, diarrhoea and dysentery are common. Rinderpest is a disease common to all cattle but young buffaloes especially are liable to it. An animal attacked by it generally dies within a week: should it live for ten days, there is good hope of its recovery. The curative measures adopted by the owner are to feed the animal on ghi, mung pulse, and rice water and to invoke the help of the goddess Mata. Inoculation for rinderpest is recommended but not yet practised to any great extent in the District. Foot-and-mouth disease is very common. The animal attacked by it is made to stand in mud, and dikamali or the resin of Gardenia lucida, boiled in linseed or til oil, is rubbed on the sores of the feet. If there are ulcers on the tongue, they are treated with alum powder. Should the hoofs split, the animal becomes lame for life; but the disease is not often fatal.

Weeds and fodder grasses.

168. The cultivation of the District is as a whole perhaps cleaner than that of any other part of Berar. The most troublesome of all weeds is kunda (Andropogon punctatus) which may be seen growing in its characteristic roundish patches in cultivated fields, and which the cultivator may be seen laboriously digging up with his kudli (pick) during the hot weather. When green it is relished by cattle. Kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum) is equally troublesome, but is not so widely spread. It is chiefly found near the foot of the hills but is not so common here as in the northern Districts of the Central Provinces. Nagarmotha (Cyprus pretensis) is a most pertinacious weed infesting garden and akhar land. Nagri grass (Arthraxon lanceolatum), an inferior grass of spreading habit; paonia or sirput (Ischaemum sulcatum), a tufty grass which grows to a height of two feet; pandhar (Chloris barbata) a coarse tufty grass growing in wet places are also common weeds in cultivated fields, but can be removed without much difficulty at the time of weeding with the khurpi, Agara (Achryanthes aspera), whose flowers stick to the clothes like burs, and the leaves and seeds of which are used medicinally, is a very common weed on the borders of fields. Wild san hemp (Crotalaria retusa) and sheora, a species of Alysicarpus, are the two commonest leguminous weeds found in cultivated fields. There are also certain shrubs which become very troublesome weeds. Yelatari (Dichrostachys cinerea) with its tassel-like flowers, saondar (Prosopis spicigera) which may; be recognised by its grey rough bark and flowers in slender spikes, rui or akan (Calotropis gigantea) and at times babul (Acacia arabica), hiwar (Acacia leucophlea) and other shrubs become troublesome weeds. The roots of some of these go to a depth of 4 ft. or more, and the work of uprooting them at that depth is a heavy one. The cultivator commonly checks them growth by digging up the roots that are in the first six inches of soil. The natural grasses of the ramnas and village grazing grounds are those that have adapted themselves to the soil and climatic conditions of these areas. The hardier and coarser grasses generally flourish at the expense of the finer varieties. The coarser varieties include those already mentioned as common weeds in cultivated fields, as well as mote kusli or spear grass, (Heteropogon contortus) a coarse grass used mainly for thatching, tikhari or rusa (Andropogon Schaenanthus) from which a fragrant oil is extracted and mushad (Iseilema wightii). The best grasses are paonia, the marvels motha marvel (Andropogon caricosus), and lahani marvel (Andropogon annulatus), sahada (Ichaemum laxum) and dub grass (Cynodon dactylon.)