The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1884.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4139, 28 October 1884, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1884.

Tun following very interesting information in regard to the best; means of exterminating rabbits is contained in the evidence given before the Sheep and Rabbit Acts Committee. The witnesses says a special correspondent of a southern contemporary, were almost unanimously in favor of poisoning and the use of ferrets, and against the rabbi tors and dogs. In regard to the use of ferrets some striking evidence was given by Mr G. F. Bullen, rimholder, of Kaikoura. He first of all sent home for COO ferrets but the whole shipment died. Then he started with 700, and out of that number succeeded in landing two ferrets and two weasels. The ferrets were a first cross with the polecat and therefore of a very hardy kind. The little animals increased and did so well that Mr Bullen was able to inform the Committee that they had annihilated the rabbits on 90,000 acres of land. They had never used poison on that country and at an early stage of his experience ho found it necessary to wet rid of the rabbiters, inasmuch as they found the men killing cats, wekas, and everything-else that preyed on the rabbits. They depended entirely on ferrets, and as showing what had been done mentioned that he had seen 5000 rabbits killed on one little spur. Every year they tried to breed about two hundred ferrets. He thought it possible that ferrets might attack lambs but was quite sure they would not do one twentieth part of the harm that rabbits do. The cost of ferrets to witness was about 15s a year (presumably per pair) because he never had any rabbite to feed them on, aud had to kill sheep or pigs. If ho had rabbits he could breed them for 5s or 6s. On being asked if he 'thought any attempt to extirpate rabbits by employing rabbiters would be a failure,' tho witness somewhat quaintly remarked that he thought rabbiters were especially hostile to the life of tho ferret. Mr Bullen, it appears, also got out nine or ten mongooses, one of which fell a prey to tho misdirected zeal of a neighboring cockatoo, and he was iiot able to afford the Committee much information, as to the services rendered by the others beyond saying that he know they killed rabbits, aud that they were very active killing them in the open.—Mr Alfred Dillon Bell, runholcler, of Waihejno," also gave some instructive evidence on the same .subject. He stated that the means he adopted on his run to destroy rabbits consisted of poisoning in winter, and snaring, trapping, dogging in summer. They made an attempt to introdnce ferrets, but were very much discouraged by the Inspectors, who insisted on their employing rabbiters with traps and dogs, the result being that all the ferrets were destroyed. Mr Bell, it appears, spent £100 near his own homestead in experiments with ferrets, and was ordered to

place men and traps on the same piece of ground. The answer he got from one of the subordinates with whom he remonstrated was, " I don't believe in these ferrets myself." In order to try the matter witness refused to comply with the notice to place rabbiters and traps on the ferret ground, and was summoned before a magistrate. In phosphorons poisoning he had implicit faith. It was in November, 1879, that he j commenced to use it. He commenced with an American recipe, which cost him £2 8s 6d, when rhodium was at lGs an ounce and phosphorous at 20s a pound. He laid it outside of grass paddocks where the rabbits were numerous, but they did not touch it It then occurred to him that wheat porridge mixture was not a natural looking bait for rabbits, and he substituted oats for crushed wheat. The next thing was to dispense with the rhodium, that article being so oxpensive. He found the rabbits took the poison readily and the success of the discovery was complete."