'REPORT ON THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY, FOR THE YEAR 1914-1915' [‎200v] (70/150)

Chapter IV.
PRODUCTION
AND
DISTRIBUTION.
Shows by the
Agricultural
Department.
Observatories.
Observations.
Principal features.
The monsoon.
. . BOMBAY ADMINISTRATION REPORT.
44 *
3. At the beginning of the year there were 37 stallions in use, 14 beino-1
23 ponies. Two horses and four ponies were purchased and two were fetroyed T S ^
eight stallions were stationed in the Deccan and 13 in Gujarat, i he number o r
actually employed at stud was 38. The total number of mares covered was' 1 s 8o ° ns
1,543 in the preceding year. The average cost of feed and keep was Rs. 492°^ aS against
8 .—Fairs and Shows.
1. The Ahmedabad horse show was held in February. A grant of R s 2
silver medal were provided by Government. Under the advice of the Collector^ a
show at Ahmednagar was not held this year. e ’ 10r se )
2. The annual cattle show at Sholapur was not held owing to the existence f
A cattle show was held at Talod in the Ahmedabad district and a sum of R s 48°- P - aglle '
silver medals were distributed from Government funds. A cattle show was held at I r™
the Karachi district in conjunction with the agricultural show. One hundred and fb ln
animals competed for prizes. A sum of Rs. 179, two silver medals and a WGvere av n
from Local Funds and two silver tumblers were presented by an Indian rentlem.n iv
was the first show held at Landhi. b ' ^ 1S
3. Grants of Rs. 150 and Rs. 100 were given also for cattle prizes at the aar,V u ,
shows at Bijapur and Shirpur in the West Khandesh district. b U ura '
2.—Weather and Crops.
1. —Meteorological Department of Western India.
1. There were twenty-three third class observatories including the non-dena t
observatories of Ahmedabad and Jamnagar. ^ men al
2. Breaks in the observation numbered eight of which six were due to seme fault' tl
instruments and one to the death of an observer. The number of daily weather reno
supplied to Government officials and private subscribers decreased from 272 to 268 while the
subscriptions increased in amount from Rs. 777 to Rs. 781. Extracts from the loa S of Ci o
vessels were made and forwarded to Simla. Telegraphic summaries of weather experienced
by the mail steamers were sent to Simla from the 15th May to 2nd December 1914. Extracts
from the logs of all incoming vessels were telegraphed between the 15th and 24th June 1014
Information regarding weather, and wherever possible, atmospherics experienced by vessels
arriving from Aden was telegraphed between the 10th September and 2nd December 1914
2. — Note on the Weather of the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent.
DURING THE YEAR 1914-15.
1. The chief features in the weather of the Bombay Presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. and the adjacent parts
during the year 1914-15 were (1) the delay in the setting in of the "hot weather conditions
due to the transmission into India of depressions of the cold weather type; (2) the setting
in of the monsoon on the west coast of the Peninsula about the normal date and, in spite of
its rather slow extension inland, the abundance of the rainfall ; (3) the early withdrawal of
the monsoon from the central parts of the-country and from the north of the Peninsula and
the unusually early commencement of winter rains ; and (4) the unusually unsettled state of
the weather during the period, January to March 1915.
2. I he weather was abnormal in April. Rainfall was deficient over the whole Presi
dency ; Sind, Gujarat (including Kathiawar) and the Konkan received only one-third and the
Bombay Deccan about one-half of the average amount. The month of May was also
abnormal. I he rainfall was in excess in Sind, Gujarat and Kathiawar but again in defect in
the Konkan and Bombay Deccan. The monsoon appeared on the Malabar coast on the 4th
June but it was not until the 14th June that the heavy falls of rain which usually mark the
setting in of the monsoon were general in the Konkan and Malabar. The extension of the
monsoon inland was slow. During the first three weeks of June rainfall was confined chiefly
to the west coast but on the 22nd and 23rd June a storm formed off the Orissa coast which,
advancing in a nearly west-north-westerly direction, introduced monsoon conditions in the
interior and caused heavy rain to the south of its track. The rainfall for the month of June
was equal to the average in the Konkan and about normal over the rest of the Bombay Presi
dency^ The monsoon was very vigorous in July and gave abundant rainfall over the whole
of India. During the month of August the monsoon from the Arabian Sea decreased in
activity and a nearly complete break set in during the last week of the month. The distri
bution of rainfall was also very unsatisfactory. The break lasted till the 5th September.
After the passage of two depressions of minor importance, a third formed in the Ba\ 0
Bengal on the 8th September which travelled in a curve, first in a north-westerly and then in
a north-easterly direction. Heavy rainfall occurred all along its track, particularly in Katn
awar where as many as i 5'93 inches fell in one day. During the last 10 days of themon
the monsoon from the Arabian Sea gave rain chiefly in the Peninsula. The total ram a
for the month was equal to the average in Sind but in excess over the rest of the Presidenc).
T he rainfall for the monsoon season, June to September, was 9 per cent, in defect 0
normal in Sind but 23 per cent., 31 per cent, and 44 per cent, in excess in Gujara,
Konkan and the Bombay Deccan respectively.