THE MONGOOSE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3648, 22 March 1883, Page 4

THE MONGOOSE.

The proposition to send one or several cargoes of mungoose, or mung-eese, from India to Australia and New Zealand to abate the plague of rabbits has provoked _ niungoosian, or nian.gusie, controversy, not only as to the spelling of the animal's name and its plural, but as to its invulnerability from snake bite. The Daily News says :■—" The latter question was settled by Sir Joseph J''ayrer and other experimentalists several years ago so decisively that its revival only serves to display the tenacious vitality of a good story. The account of the mitngoose after being wounded during a contest with a. cobra going away into the woods and eating of a certain herb, which acted as an antidote to the snake-poison, is one of tlio.se venerable travellers' talcs which, if it is not, ought to be among the collection of uK-ivflibilit'o. ramed up by li-uti w»rlby l-j.-.-h, Ui,rl,i; ; , u ,l rhtoni. ekr oir -U-'i"! Mauvdc.v!!!'.-. ' Rout > <vn-

111.- Cel"!!';! Y'llr. ;n<A ?T--T"? .'■•■-.!" !■■>■,'. .].,.••,, th?f 1 , ]..- -v-jvl "f (Ul

. .■'••\itid' r, >'-hv.h rv-t. >s f:!-o, >~ noth-MV 01-o Lh.iu thai f-njirjus filvoiw mineral asbestos, and have thus partially vindicated the truthfulness, of mediseval wanderers who were not so precise as Herodotus in distinguishing between what they aaw and what was told them; but the moiijruoso story has byeu shemu to be

absurd. The little animal undoubtedly kills the cobra by virtue of its superior activity, but if bitten dies of snake-poison-ing like any other creature. Part of its good qualities will thus be sacrificed in New Zealand. Not so, however, in Australia, where there are venomous snakes enough and to spare. Doubtless the mongoose -will slay many rabbits but considerable numbers must be imported to make the slightest impression on the myriads ~f those animals with which certain parts of Aiistrala.-ia are teeming. At the same time the fanners who carry out. this rash .•scheme must be prepared to give up keeping poultry, for the mungoose greatly profers fowls and eggs to the tougher, if more gamy, rabbit and the wily and dangerous serpent. The situation, appears to ns tv resemble very closely that of the French gentleman who killed off his wild boars because they ate his truffles, whereat the vipers increased so rapidly on his domain that his people were afraid to seek for the trufdes. men and dogs being both too frequently bitten. Then he turned down wild boars again, who went on eating vipers and trutnYs as before. It was a terrible dilemma to be placed in and irvitatinii' to an epiciiri-. for if lie raised wild hoars" he could not grow fruMles to stuff their head- withal. In tin- United States Iki-s <-k-;u- the woods of rattle-Miakes effectually, grow f.it on them, the acorns. and beechmasf. and prime mess pork i.- the result. Tint in Australia and New Zealand the choice offered appears to be too many rabbits and plenty of poultry, or none of either if the mungoose be called in."