3

                                                      BOVINES.

16.  Rinderpest.—This disease was prevalent in all the districts of the Province
except Lushai Hills, and caused 23,424 deaths against 20,614 in the previous year.
The increase was due to the fact that there was an extensive outbreak in Lakhimpur
district, and the disease was of a more virulent type, which caused 13,282 deaths in
this single district—a number much more than half that reported from the entire
Province. With the exception of the above uoted, there was a considerable decrease
in the number of deaths from this disease in all other districts as compared with that
of previous year. In the previous year Sibsagar reported the heaviest mortality.

17.   Foot-and-Mmth disease.—3,705 deaths from this disease have been reported
from 10 districts against 6,102 of previous year from the same number of districts.
The heaviest mortality has again been reported from the district of Nowgong, though
the number is much less during the year under report than that shown in the previous
year.

18.   Hæmorrhngic Septicæmia.—There were 5,640 deaths reported from 8 districts
during the year. In the previous year 7,433 deaths were reported from 9 districts.
For the last 6 years Kamrup reports the heaviest mortality, the number being much
less than in the previous year. Diagnosis by microscopic examination was confirmed
in the districts of Cachar, Sylhet, Goalpara, Kamrup, Sibsagar, and Khasi and Jaintia
Hills. Slides for microscopic examination were received from the districts of Nowgong
and Darrang, but the examination did not confirm the disease. Hence no reliance can
be placed on the number of deaths reported.

19.  Blackquarter.—This disease was reported from 3 districts and caused 162
deaths ; in the previous year 285 deaths were reported from 4 districts. In no case
could the diagnosis be confirmed by microscopic examination, as no report of the pro-
valence of this disease was received in the Superintendent's office during the year.

20. Anthrax.—Anthrax was reported from 9 districts and caused 1,702 deaths-
In the previous year 2,192 deaths were reported from 8 districts. The diagnosis of
this disease by microscopical examination was confirmed in the districts of Cachar,
Sylhet, Goalpara, Kamrup and Sibsagar. Again, as in the previous year, the cases
from Nowgong and Darrang were not previously reported to the office of the Superin-
tendent and no action could be taken.

21.   Other contagious diseases.—7,778 deaths were reported to have occurred
during the year from 7 districts. In the previous year 8,365 deaths were reported from
the same number of districts.

22.   Contagious disease amongst other animals.—3,053 deaths were reported from 9
districts under this head against 3,071 from 7 districts in the previous year. Darrang
reports 281 deaths from distemper, which is evidently an error, and very little reliance
can be placed on the number returned.

                                    Preventive Inoculation.

23.  Rinderpest.—Table III shows the result of preventive inoculation in the
Province. During the year under report inoculation was carried out in 235 outbreaks
in 18 subdivisions ; this includes the work done on the Mishmi road. In these out-
breaks, 8,403 animals died before inoculation, and 27,361 animals were inoculated.
There were 862 deaths reported amongst the inoculated animals.

24.  In the previous year, inoculation was carried out in 263 outbreaks in 19
subdivisions. In these outbreaks 7,276 animals died before inoculation and 33,052
animals were inoculated, of which 881 died. It will thus be seen that there has been
a decrease of 5.691 inoculations against this disease and this is evidently due to the
fact that the disease was much less prevalent in the Province except in the district of
Lakhimpur, where a virulent type of outbreak broke out ana where alone 6,542
animals were inoculated, of which 496 died subsequently.

25.  The largest number of inoculations was made in Dibrugarh, Sibsagar, Silchar,
Golaghat and Moriani. In the previous year Jorhat, Karimganj, Golaghat, North
Sylhet and Hailakandi showed the largest number of inoculations.

26.   An outbreak of rinderpest occurred amongst the Public Works Department
and Transport bullocks on the Mishmi road at the close of the year, and 730 animals
were inoculated by the Staff and Reserve Assistants deputed there. The outbreak
appeared in a most virulent form, but as very prompt action was taken to depute
Assistants by this Department, the whole lot of the animals there were inoculated