Rabbits in N.S. Wales.

Manawatu Herald, 19 November 1892, Page 2

Rabbits in N.S. Wales.

Owing fco fche appearance of rabbits in Queensland, the Brisbane Courier despatched a special correspondent to study fche situation. He makes out a sad story of devastation, there bsing in the Western division of New South Wales an almost entire absence of indigenous grasses and edible shrubs. He places its present carrying capacity afc one sheep to every seven or ten acres. The reporter was also informed of certain facts, which he has accepted, bufc ifc needs seeing for believing. Thus — ifc musfc have been a curious spectacle to see hundreds, nay millions, of rabbits lying dead along fche line of wire netting. Rabbits are very stupid and obstinate, and if they cannot travel in the direction in which they have made up fcheir minds they will lie down and die. In fche very dry season they have been seen piled three feet high alongside the fence, and the live rabbits have crawled over the dead bodies of their comrades, crossed the fence and travelled onwards !

The Melbourne Punch takes off some of these rabbifc tales ami in a lafce sketch shows a rabbifc wifch well developed claws climbing up fche wire netting fence ; then a rabbit wifch ears enlarged using them as wings to fly over ; then as crossed with the kangaroo thus obtaining immensely long hind legs so that ifc can jump over auy obstruction ; and afc last, from the hard nature of the soil, fche rabbifc obtains hoofs so that it can trot along over anything. Ifc is called a Darwinian view of the coming rabbifc.