RABBIT PEST
Sir,— According to J. Graham’s letter, he is the man who feeds the rabbits, and I am the professional rabbiter who collects the big cheques for their skins. Evidently he is feeding a lot of rabbits simply because he doesn’t know how to destroy them, and because he has been destroying the natural enemies for years and is still after them. Any experienced rabbiter could clear his 350 acre farm of rabbits in about a fortnight. lam not a professional rabbiter now, as I have been farming for 35 years, and I have never received a big cheque for skins in my life. When I rabbited for a living many years ago I worked 100 hours a week for about £4. In those days full grown skins were worth about two-pence each, and smaller ones a penny. _ My present farm is three times the size of Mr Graham’s, but I don’t feed rabbits, as I cleaned them out 30 years ago, and the natural enemy has kept them down ever since. My farm has not been trapped or poisoned for 25 years, and hundreds of acres of it are not carrying one single rabbit. Mr Graham spent a lot of time and money fmnigating last year, and says he is going to repeat the dose again this year, which proves that fumigating isn’t much good, when he has got to repeat the dose so soon. It also proves that his rabbit board is a failure too. What is the board doing? Why doesn’t it kill his rabbits? Apparently he is paying the rabbit board fourpence an acre tax, and then has to spend a lot of his tune and money trying to kill his own rabbits with a smoker. As I said before fumigating is a slow and expensive method, and although I know hundreds of farmers, I do not know one who uses a fumigator. Mr Graham’s opinion that high prices for skins help to increase the pest is in my opinion rather ridiculous. Now, just a word to “Rabbiter No. .2.” He is evidently a novice who believes. in fumigating, and talks of rabbiters riding round on horseback with spades on their shoulders. Quite a nice job for the rabbiter at £6 a week, but what about the poor “cocky” who has to pay him? Why spend a lot of money fumigating, when you can kill rabbits cheaper and quicker by trapping and poisoning, and a good man should earn at least £lO a week into the bargain? j OLD SOLDIER. BAGPIPE PROGRAMME Sir, —On Friday night, August 7, I listened to the bagpipe programme broadcast through Station 4YZ and got a very clear reception. I along with a host of other listeners in and around Auckland spent a very pleasant hour. We wish to express our appreciation to the convener and the pipers who made this possible and hope to hear the Southland pipers on the air again shortly. F. J. JENKS.
Mercer, Auckland.
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Southland Times, Issue 24824, 17 August 1942, Page 6
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499RABBIT PEST Southland Times, Issue 24824, 17 August 1942, Page 6
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