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The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1888. DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION.

Every dog (says the proverb) has his day, and the same thing is true m relation to more than dogs even the multifarious, übiquitous, and devastating rabbit being at last on the eve of a check m his career of victory, and apparently doomed to destruction. Guns, dogs, cats, ferrets, stoats, weasels, traps, and phosphorus all have been brought into service to compass his discomfiture, and the white tails of his innumerable hosts have twinkled triumphant defiance, but science will yet prove too much for him, and the knell of his extinction has gone forth. What with chicken cholera and liver fluke sedulously disseminated bunny is compassed about by agents of destruction with which he is powerless to cope, and there will be general rejoicing over a victory which will mean many hundreds of thousands of additional wool-money for the pastoralists of Australasia. It is, however, only common prudence to make the fullest enquiry before the adoption of the system of distributing germs of disease advocated by M. Pasteur and others m order to make sure that the disease propagated will be confined to the mischievous little animal against which it is directed, and will not spread devastation among our flocks and herds nor prove a source of danger to human beings ; hence the Conference which is about to sit for the purpose of investigating this aspect of the case is a wise and necessary step. For ourselves, wo think there is every reason to believe that it will be conclusively shown that there is nothing to fear on this head, and if the event prove, as we think it will, the correctness of that opinion, then the rabbit scourge will soon cease to vex the colonies, and the final rout of bunny is near at hand. Meantime, it may interest our readers to learn that yet another method of grappling with the long-eared enemy has been brought forward by a patentee who proposes his destruction m his native lair — the burrow. It is the invention of a Mr Nuttall, and the first public trial took place at Knapdale station, Southland, a few days ago. The following description of the machine, the construction and mode of working which are described as exceedingly simple is given by the " Mataura Ensign": — "A canister holding about halt a gallon is filled with bi-sul-phide of carbon, the fumes of which are known to be quickly fatal to animal life. By means of a pair of ordinary hand-bellows a current of air is forced through the liquid. This current, now charged with the deadly fumes, is forced into the burrows by means of a flexible tube. The whole apparatus can easily be carried by one man, as well as a spade necessary for the closure of the outlets. The air which is forced into the burrows 13 not only noxious to the inmates, but also highly inflammable. Upon a match being thrown into a hole, charged with it, an explosion takes place immediately. The advantages which the patentee claims for this, the latest, invention are, first of all efficacy, then portability, as one man can carry and work the whole thing oh any country where a man can climb, and lastly, economy, both m first cost (which is £5), and on the further utilization of the bisulphide. The present method of using the liquid is to lay a rag, saturated with it, at the mouth of the hole* The aperture is then dosed up, some previously exploding the bi-sulphide, and others trusting merely to the fumes. But it must be evident that the fumes, unassisted by a current of air, must be a long time finding their way to the innermost recess of the burrow, and consequently success can only be partial. But by the method of infection now under notice, the most remote cranny is reached to the certain destruction of such of the vermin as may have sought refuge there." Of the trial at Knapdale which is said i to have been a complete and exhaustive one, the " Ensign " goes on to say : — " On the banks of one of the innumerable small creeks with which Knapdale is watered, two colonies of rabbits, or rather the habitations of them, were selected. The deadly gas was introduced, and every outlet which the eye could see or the nose detect by the escape, closed up till next morning. The third test was a still more crucial one, A gully was chosen, which had m its bottom one of those subterranean watercourses before alluded to. These under-runners, as they are called, are very frequent, and the cavities m them are very often of sufficient size for a man to crawl through . To fill one of these channels with sufficient gas to destroy all animal life is no easy task, mere especially as there are invariably great numbers of outlets, and many of them at so great a distance from the main avenue as not to be easily discernible, The test af success is most easily applied. It was known that the under-runner contained rabbits, for the dogs with which the party was accompanied drove several there. Therefore, if the stoppings of the different openings remained intact next day, or were removed from the outside, it might be presumed that the injection had been effectual, and that the inmates had been deprived of power of inflicting further injury on the luxuriant grass around. The result of the experiment was ascertained next morning when the scene of the previous day's opertions waa visited. The earth with which the entrances had been closed was undisturbed, and Mr McQueen expressed himself quite satisfied that every trace of animal life m the burrows had been destroyed, and intimated his intention of publicly announcing the result, and will readily answer any enquiries made upon the subject," Our contemporary sums up by saying that " there seems to be no doubt that the invention of this cheap and easily portable contrivance has placed m the hands of those whose land is infected with rabbits a means of combating Ihem m their burrows, and m rough ground, and, used m combination with the means usually employed m the open ground, should enable them to bring the pest withing measurable limits" Not only that, we imagine, but what with phosphorus m his food, microbes m the air he breathes abroad, and deadly fumes m his burrows at home we imagine that the problem of existence will become altogether too complicated for bunny and that the hour of his complete extinction cannot be far off. The gooner it comes the better,

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AG18880410.2.5

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1811, 10 April 1888, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,118

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1888. DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1811, 10 April 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1888. DOOMED TO DESTRUCTION. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1811, 10 April 1888, Page 2

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