Material relating to R. Macgregor, being 'The domestic buffalo'

This paper on The domestic buffalo in Malaysia consists of 71-pages, numbered, together with a loose covering letter at rear addressed to Professor Francis Albert Eley Crew (1886-1973), Professor of Animal Genetics at Edinburgh University, and supporting the content of the paper.

It contains chapters on zoological classification, anatomy and physiology, buffalo farming, and diseases. There are c.23 black and white photographs pasted in.

The paper is stamped on the front cover with: Commonwealth Bureau / of / Animal Breeding and Genetics / Edinburgh

In 1938, R. Macgregor M.R.C.V.S. was working in the Veterinary Office, Raub, Pahang, in what was then the Federated Malay States (now Malaysia). Pahang is on the Malayan Peninsula, and agriculture is the main economic activity in Raub today, with fruit growing topping this - principally the cultivation of durians. Most is transported to other cities, especially Kuala Lumpur. Besides fruit, rubber tapping is also carried on.

In the 1930s, Macgregor had been writing on the local domestic buffalo - animals which were domesticated essentially for use on uncared for pasture. The buffalo were of two distinct species, or types, one for use on dry ground and the other for use in swamps.

Open for consultation to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance of any visit.

Acquired from the Roslin Institute ( 2009/44). Accession no: E2009.31

Compiled by Graeme D. Eddie, Special Collections, Edinburgh University Library.