Invasion by Rats.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 110, 14 April 1885, Page 4

Invasion by Rats.

At a late meeting. of the Nelson Philosophical Institute, Mr. Meeson read a paper on the invasion by rats of the Northern portion of the South Island. He said: — "Living rats are sneaking in every corner, scuttling across every path; their dead bodies in various stages of decay, and in many cases more or less mutilated, strew the roads, fields and gardens — pollute the wells and streams in all directions. Whatever kills the animals does not succeed in materially diminishing their num. bets. Fresh battalions take the place of those slaughtered. Young and succulent crops, as of wheat and peas, are so ravaged as to be unh't for and not worth the trouble of cutting and harvesting, A young farmer the other day killed with a stout stick 200 of the little rodents in a couple of hours in his wheatfield. Plainly, the settler, for this season at all events, in addition to paroquets and blackbirds amongst his small fruit — the codlin moth, Amertcan blight, scale etc;, amongst his larger fruit — the difficulty of getting in his seed ard of gathering his crops through disorganisation in the central weather office, and the impossibility of getting a remunerative price for what he does succeed in bringing to market— may count upon another source of comfort and profit in addition to all that he at present possesses, in the troublesome visitor which forms the subject of this notice." Mr Meeson then asks the question, Whence do the animals come? He endeavours to answer it as follows :H-"The local journals of the past six months seem to show that the province of Marlborough, and in particular the district about Blenheim and Picton, first had the visitation. This was, I believe, about five months ago— that is to say, in the depth of winter. Thence the rodents made their way in a westerly direction through the Wangamoa to Wakapuaka, Nelson and the Waimea. Thousands of them made a mistake in passing on the eastern coast of Blind Bay towards Nelson. They took to the Boulder Bay and travelled along that curious prong of land to its very extremity. They continued their course onwards they then boldly swam across the passage leading into the harbour, rather than loose- time by retreating their steps. From the Waimea the invading forces journeyed onwards ronnd Tasman Bay to the Motueka, took possession in countless myriads of the valley of the Motueka, spread •round Golden Bay, passed Collingwood, and planted their outposts 'even as far' as Cape Farewell. They have now . completely overran the southern snores of Cook Strait, and have even appeared in great force in D'Urville Islsnd, which apparently they could only have reached by swimming the French Pass. How far southwards the invasion has extended there seems no means of -immediately ascertaining, as a great part of the country between here and the Canterbury plains is either very sparsely peopled or unoccupied altogether. On the Lyell road, throughout the whole distance, they are in swarms. Probably ere this, if they have continued their disposition to travel in search of fresh fields and pastures new, they have made their way to Westland and Canterbury. Wow this is the whole of what we know as to their march : the question, whence do they come ? still virtually remains unanswered. I think,, however, if we consider where they first put in their appear.ance, we may fairly conclude that their previous abode was somewhere in the mountainous country around the valleys of the Wairau and Awatere — midway, perhaps, as the bird flies, between Nelson and the little township of Kaikoura." Mr Meeson . makes the, singular assertion that all, or. nearly all, the rats are males, and from that he draws a comforting deduction that the plague will gradually disappear. On this point he says : — " I have examined many of these animals, and have not found a single femalel One , of ,my neighbours has examined 200 of them, and a Maori at the pah beyond Wakapuaka 100, with the same negative result. 1, -have, not heard of more than' 6iie female "specimen as -.yet being taken .amongst the >yhole host. If it really be the case that all, of nearly so, of these visitors of ours are males, we may safely prognosticate that, unless there be a fusion of this race with that of the Mus decuTnanus or Norwegian rat which we have with us~a thing most unlikely to occur— the infliction under which we suffer will riot jbe of lpn^duratjon. c . v ; .. ; ■;■:. Their enemies are numerous. Every man's hand is against them. Dogs and cats. worry them about out houses. Native birds pounce upon them in the open fields. Their mere powerful congeners, the brown rats, wage war against them a Voutrance.r Besides these enemies. they have to contend with disease, probably occasioned by change of food and surroundiags. Moreover, they do not seem to have the experience or cunning of the brown rat as to the avoidance of danger; and as their numbers are so great their slaughter is proportionately wholesale. Between them and the brown rats there will of course be, a war of the. races ; but the black rat, neither in Europe nor here, has never been a match for the other rodent. We shall not have these interesting strangers among us long; already, they are diminishing in numbers, and soon they will probably retire to their mountain fastnesses as mysteriously as they decended upon us. If we did not welcome their coming, I think without doubt we shall speed the parting guests."