FLYING FOXES.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16725, 7 January 1920, Page 7

FLYING FOXES.

bad AS WILD DOGS.

(FROM OCR OWN COBBKSPONDEVr > SY3»~EY, December 31 Drought, rabbite, wfld dogs, fly'nfi foxes —these nro some of the trouble* of tho man on the land in Australia. Flying foxes continue to do great damage to the orchards throughout !^ West Maitland district, and tho fruit crops, already light aro beingJ«Jhcr reduced by this pest. A| fruit-growers turned a holiday >ntO ' raid on tho post. . They di-scovcmJ tho haunt of the flying fox in a d« P gully in the mountains, and in thr« hovrs 18 guns accounted for over 200t» of tho pest, in addition to ones \viiidi .the old foxes, w.h cold parental indifference, threw out. I>« guns had not been ° n K' n action when tlu air was veritably black with the raid at Budgong Creek, in tho Shoalhaven district, also served to weaken tho enemy. It is estimated that fullv 1000 of tho pest were killed, t it rudcrs driving them clean out of the creek for the first time on record Haiders aro marshalling their lorn-.* with Foch-liko ingenuity for other attacks upon the post. One of the G° - eminent inspectors says that only continuous attacks on tho flying fox wi l orftdicate the nuisann*. Ono orrhai'list in desnair promises to find all -ii«* shooters if growers will find the mimunition. Thren penew per scalp tnr th-j pest is offered in ono place. <>ni> man nrovided a team of horses, with th<? help of which the attacking party outflanked tho foxes. This is bow the man on t»m laml makes war, for he regards the fly in:: fox something in the nature of » H"> nisli ho":t. How a .sporting British airman one* bad Baron lUrhthofen, the crnck (..-r----man airman (killed in April, 19l8)i ■ his morcy, and spared him. is toM »> Count CV.crnin (late Austro-Hnnpnan Foreign Minister) in lus book ' In tlu» World War." "Richthofen and an English .'linnan were circling round each other and firing furiously. Suddenl> something went wrong wiib fen's machine-gun and Ji» eonlU not shoot. The Englishman looked acr«. > in surpriso, and. seeing what wawrenc. waved his hand, turned, an-l low off." Count Caernin calls th. British airman "greater than the heroes el old-"