MASTERTON RABBIT DISTRICT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 835, 2 August 1881, Page 2

MASTERTON RABBIT DISTRICT.

. INSPEOTOit's. JyEBOIl?. have the honor to submit the following report for the information of the .2ttr4.w :•' ( . In accordance with instructions received from the Board, I again warned Messrs Day and D, McLachlan that unless proper' steps were taken by them to destroy the rabbits 1 on their land, proceedings would be taken against them' forilWith.' I also served Mr Ashwin with notice, in respect of tho land leased by him from the Messrs, Holmes. With regard to the properties' situated on the uppqr part of the 'Opaki plain, I find qii most of them the rabbits have been considerably reduced this season. Tlirre are stjll,-however, a good- 1 many on the section owned by Mrs Oripps. The man' with whom Mrs Cripps made an arrangement'to poison the ground-is about tore-poison the whole of the clear portion of the section. Arrangements have also been 'made with Mr Henry Bannister to poison the sections on the Waipoua recently purchased by Mr Olliver, being part of the estate of the late Mr W. Welch, I have also visited Mr J. V. Smith's,property, and find there are still a good many rabbits on the side next the Forty-Mile Bush road. ■ '

jhave to report.that the poison laid by Mr Bannistor'on tlie Government land in the Rangitumati block has ' been very effectual in killing a large number of rabbits.; I visited' the locality on the 26th hist., and found that some natives camped on the around Had picked up several hundred dead dries.

Mr Mawley promised that Kp lyould poison aV once a 200 acre sectjoi| owned by him (adjoining Messrs J. jand. D. Donald's,'on which rabbits are numerous, but about the homestead property the pest is well kept down. I have also' visited tjjp propprtips of Messrs' Stucke'y, J .MoLachlan and Hare, Oji th,e two former I did not see many rabbits, but I observed a good many, oil Mr Hare's 'section. Mr Hare's son who. is living on ,the landwas unavoidably absent for some daysV'6therwise/agood.de T wouhihavebeen.laid., ". !, a .. ' ~'r '■ "' Yesterday I visited in company with Mr .'JBannister, the property of Mr J. MoKenzie on ,the iWangaehuig-Po.ison Ijas been laid, by,Mr,: McKenzie on thrt portion fronting the Upper Taueru road. We went over, a considerable portion of the property but were unable'to discover that anything like the necessary quantity of poison has been used on this land, the

rabbits being very numerous in many placeß. ..., I visited also the land at the Pairau, belonging to the Natives, poison has been used freely with success on it. On that portion of the late Mr Bannister's pro' perty, whioh is how ocoupied by Mr Percy poison has also been laid, and the rabbits appear to have taken it pretty well. •' ■ • - ;; " 'JamesHAfiVtf^uhr.,