DEATH TO RABBITS.

Shannon News, 26 June 1925, Page 4

DEATH TO RABBITS.

MAY SOLVE GREAT PROBLEMMr. Alan Saunders, who was sent to Australia by a firm of stock and station agents some weeks ago to investigate the claims made on behalf of the calcium cyanide method of rubbit destruction, has returned from his mission fully satisfied that a means oil controlling, if not of actually exterminating, the worst of New Zealand*!:' animal pests has been disco veied. Going to Sydney armed with credential to State officials, business men and prominent land owners, he had no difficulty in obtaining every possible facility for the execution of his commission, and after spending a day or so in the city obtaining all the informal ion he could concerning the Quayle K/stem, as the new process is styled in compliment to its discoverer —Prcl'es::»r H. T. Quayle, of the Univeisity o£ California —he went "up country" and occupied three weeks in taking an active personal part in the war being waged against the rabbit >.'.n the 'Mother State. "Tli j agents of the American

::;anufae urers and their representative, Mr. Wolstonholme," Mr. Saunlers sail! when recounting his experiences and his observations to a representaiive of the "Manawatu

Tunes," "while supplying me with abundance of information upon every detail, were insistent upon my seeing every op.-ration myself. I was asked to take nothing for granted, and at the end of my first day in the open I felt that. I knew as much about the practical part of the business as did the old hands. It really is as simple as shell:;g peas, and, at my own request, Mr. Wolstonholme, who was my tutor, looked out for country most resembling that likely to be found in New Zealand, and we covered hundreds of miles by train and car in discoveringdistricts fulfilling this condition. We visited farms and stations still over-run with rabbits, and others that had been cleared by the Quayle process. Everywhere I was tactfully given opportunities to talk alone with owners and employers, and nowhere found anything but warm approval of the process. When we finally returned to Sydney, Mr. Wolstonholme, who had spared no effort in familiarising me with the . field work, suggested that I should go over- the ground again and hear what these people had to say in his absence. This, however, was quite unnecessary as I had seen the results with my own eyes, had taken a hand in the work and was entirely satisfied.

"There can be no possible doubt that the process is going to reduce the rabbit pest in Australia to a minimum, and men who had been fighting the scourge for years and who had well-nigh despaired, assured me of this without the slightest hesitation. There may be parts of the country more difficult of access than any I saw, which may continue to harbour rabbits for a time; but the necessary equipment is so light and portable that such places must be few and far between. A small land owner may shoulder a. knapsack with all the necessary appliances and material and fumigate every burrow < on his farm in a single day at the cost of a few shillings. Larger holdings, of course, require more labour and more material, but the cost still will be much less than that of any other process yet employed." !

Mr. Saunders has brought back with him copies of a number of testimonials to the value of the Quayle system, which he has been at some pains to'verify. Messrs. D. A. and G. Fisher, of Bendolla, in a letter relating their own experience with calcium cyanide, write: "We do not hesitate to say that it is quite_possible to absolutely clean a run of rabbits with it, provided the work) is done carefully and systematically." Mr. K. K. King, of Gunnamulla, writes: "I Have no hesitation in stating that the calcium cyanide process goes as near to solving the rabbit problem as any mechanical effort ever will. Another great point is that it is quite simple "to use, is effective and economical." Many State officials and private individuals bear similar testimony to the value of the process. "There is just one other matter I should like to mention," Mr. Saunders said, as he laid a sheaf of testimonials aside. "Before I left for Australia my principals specially impressed upon me the importance of ascertaining whether there was any truth in the stories that had been circulated attributing all sorts of perils to the handling of calcium cyanide. I was directed to make this a vital part of my investigation. Following upon these instructions. I made inquiries everywhere from people who were using the material, and not in one single instance did I hear of any illeffect having been suffered. As for myself, I carried tins of the material, opened th.em, charged the blowers, used them, closed the holes and assisted in digging out the warrens, to begin with, no doubt, in a rather awkward and amateurish fashion, and yet I suffered no inconvenience whatever. I was warned at the start to be careful, and I was careful, but the experienced hands working with me would not allow there was the slightest danger provided commonsense was exercised."