Page 318 - Bahrain Gov annual reports(V)_Neat

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Oil Crops
Bassia butyracca (Indian Butter Tree)
Glycine soja (Soya)
Guizot ica abyssinica (Black Til)
Helianthus annus (Sunflowers)
Linum usitatissimum (Linseed)
Sesamum indicum (Sesame)
Helianthus annus and Linum usitatissimum both produced excellent crops and further
investigation with regard to oil content will be carried out in the coming season.
The other oil crops either failed to germinate or were so badly affected by salinity that they
did not come to fruition.
Animal Husbandry
Cattle (Bos Indicus). The cattle population on Bahrain may be said to be relatively high
when compared with neighbouring countries.
Cattle are usually kept for dairy purposes and good milkers fetch high prices.
Due to a lack of knowledge as regard animal management, poor housing conditions and
in-breeding over an extended period local stock has deteriorated appreciably.
With a rapidly expanding population the need for adequate supplies of fresh milk for
children cannot be over emphasised.
To improve the local breed and produce a type of animal that will have a fairly high milk
yield and will stand up to local conditions one pedigree Red Sindhi bull and six in-calf heifers
were imported from Pakistan.
The herd of local cattle is also being rapidly built up and problems pertaining to the
maintenance of health and genetic improvement through selective breeding are being
investigated.
As the pedigree herd increases in size it is hoped in due course to make available to
breeders young bulls for up-grading local stock.
Poultry
Due to a shortage of meat, local chickens are fetching very high prices in the market.
This type of chicken does not compare favourably with any of the table or egg-laying breeds in
Europe and not only are the birds small in size, but the flesh is often inferior in quality.
In an attempt to improve on the local variety 250 day old Rhode Island Red and light
Sussex chicks were imported trom the U.K. Results so far have been encouraging and provided
unforseen difficulties do not arise it is hoped that young chicks will be available for poultry
keepers in the near future.

Dairying
The dairy at Budaiya is beingimproved gradually and modern equipment is being introduced.
An electric milking plant has been installed and the intention is to produce Grade A.T.T.
Tested milk untouched by hand.
Nursery
The nursery at Budaiya has been considerably expanded and many new varieties of fruit
and ornamentals are under trial.
The public parks, gardens and avenues are gradually being planted out with stock from
the nursery and the popularity of the nursery can be judged by the fact that thousands of trees
have been sold locally this season and also exported to neighbouring countries.
Another aspect of nursery work that has been expanded appreciably is the production of
vegetable seedlings. In the past it has been obvious that many growers have sustained heavy
losses through planting seed too early in the season or through the incidence of pests. To offset
this a fairly large area was planted with seeds and seedlings were made available to growers
at a nominal charge. Although many growers did take advantage of this service and approxi­
mately 100,000 seedlings were sold, it is obvious that the information did not reach all the
growers on the Island.
It is hoped in the coming season to extend this aspect of the nursery very appreciably, so
that very large quantities of seedlings will be available to growers.