GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL.

         DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES.

                                                   Veterinary.

                                  RESOLUTION—No. 950T.-A. I.

                        DARJEELING, THE 21ST OCTOBER 1926.

READ—

           The Annual Reports of the Bengal Veterinary College and of the
              Civil Veterinary Department, Bengal, for the year 1925-26.

Mr. P. J. Kerr held charge of the department throughout the year.
Mr. A. D. MacGregor was Principal, Bengal Veterinary College, and
Captain R. T. Davis held the Vice-Principalship of the College throughout
the. year.

Since the close of the year four additional posts of reserve veterinary
assistant surgeon have been sanctioned. The pay and prospects of the
veterinary inspectors have also been improved. Other proposals of the
Director relating to the departmental staff and supply of serum are engag-
ing the attention of Government.

2. During the year there was a marked falling off in the number of
students on the rolls of the Bengal Veterinary College, the number at the
end of the session being 100 against 143, 139, 137 and 132 in the four pre-
ceding years. Whilst advantage of the College was largely taken by the
sister Province of Bihar and Orissa to which half the students belonged, the
number of the Bengal students declined from 49 to 29 in the year under
review. The falling off in the number of Bengal students appears to have
been due chiefly to the failure of District Boards in Bengal to employ
veterinary graduates up to the prescribed standard and to the stoppage of
stipends granted by Government in pursuance of the recommendations of
the Bengal Retrenchment Committee.

The question of reviving the stipends is engaging the attention of
Government.

3.    Useful work continued to be done at the Raymond Research
Laboratory attached to the College in such matters as the examination of
brains of animals for rabies and pathological specimens; diagnosis of
infectious diseases of animals ; preparation of auto-vaccines, etc.

The number of patients treated and operated on during the year at
the College Hospital rose from 2,088 to 2,587 and 218 to 296, respec-
tively. There was a corresponding increase in the fee receipts from
Rs. 30,038 to Rs. 30,820.

4.    The report of the Civil Veterinary Department shows an increase
in the mortality of animals from contagious diseases during the year, the
total number of deaths reported being 33,224 against 21,901 in
the preceding year. Of the total number of deaths rinderpest, which was
prevalent throughout the province, was responsible for 24,695 deaths
against 19,088 in the previous year, or 74 per cent. of the total mortality.
The districts which suffered most were Tippera, Dinajpur, Dacca, Rang-
pur, Mymensingh and Pabna. Government notice with regret that
989 deaths in the districts of Dacca and Mymensingh were due to
restricted supply of serum by the District Boards.