CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1152, 15 August 1882, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

■J." -iiV- to'THE I, 'EDITOB, | yeur,- issue of the Ist j ,inst. a report Wade in the House of Sep-'resen.tatijes;byjMr-^pdjo'ii:On ferrets and • rabbitsMn : (be, rKaikbura; distript, !Marl- ; - . Jf Member's information' is hardly -correct, perhaps you will kindly: allow me to n,ake' a few, remarks as one, who has recently left Mr i ß^lanVrun;\;- : that Mr Bullen introduced ferrets to his run 1 nine ySifa ja^pi-ahdjtb'at npT? hundreds of thou»ah'dis of'ferrets that.Mr Bullen practically cleared his run pf<rabbits. )■, As I-. ,hav.e j beenV over [every acre of:'t])ii run lately,"'! wiU'try and ex-' plain that the,.'abQVfl statements ate entirely wrong.'/ Last'autu'rnn, Mr Biillen's run, particularly the,' Green Hills,! were swarming with.rabbjts,.and agoqd rabbit-, •oatohere'ould'easily; get.from .'eighty to a lmndreda'day, 9n'dl for a certain fact tbatjMr Buljen's: rabbjitir; destroyed 'oyer 500. rabbits' ipne 1 week last_ anin'mer, I injaqtl hfear4';hjm; say''so, and atthe tame time.the ihepheMs mi to be kill; ing them right and; left with..their; walking stiok.B.- About, the hundreds of thousands .'ef ..ferrets...running, there, lit is ridiculous and contrary to all reason, I was for. six months gointr oyer the station referred to, and never saw a single ] ferret alive, but their dead skeletons were; t'u'he Been.all overthe.Mn, and the head:shepherd nßed to say that the ferrets were dying oiit and the rabbits increasing again. Mr Dodsoh says that nothing haS occurred to Bhoff: that ferrets will become a nuisance, ~For.the future this.is.quite correct, as deadidpgs tells no tales. • Nearly • the whole of'the-Kaikoura people 'are rabbitflrs, as the rabbits in that dWriol are the silver grey, and their more valuable. ;; Even If there- is| creaßejn,the rabbits in. this district, it is owinu to' this, as:. much as. anything. In the township of Eaikouia,.rabbits can be shot from the "verandah of the Commercial Hotel-' mornings r ahd evenings. i'Mx Codßon quotes froin. Mr letter to the Babbit Nuisance, Oommliitiie'' bf last year, in whioh thelattergentleraah says .that they leave, the rabbitirig.entirely to the ferrets. Thigisalsoincorreot/as Mr Bullen had two man destroying rabbits on the station;last.summer, ; ; even;in.-the lambing time. So a report like Mr Dodson's is apt to ;mislead : gentlemen" whogovern: the! country; and likely 'to • do" more harm than good. Ferrets are domestic animals, ,aijd are valuable in rabbit shooting, but are utterly, useless alone : j it is a lazy hunter, and. has a tendenoy to .remain at its first combat, and. slepps for days, aiideyentually perishes of cold and starvation.' Cats would be by far of most value to station owners once they are bred wild on the Vunß, 1 but they shiuld be protected from fabbirters'.ana shepherds' dogs, 1 PStive >ild :cat of the; North of Scotland-is ft|.;eie'Bl)fint rabbit hunter, and bo,'are,BtdaU and,weasels, buVthen they oarinot be;gpt;ifl,;sufficient number; but the fox is out'of - the question, as he kills, the lambs,' ;A.few years ago on some large estates in the Highlands of Scotland, such as Lord' Lovats,.the iEarlof Beafields, Sir Dudley Oonts Majoribanks, now Lord Tweedmouth, and Glengarry,' the'property.; of the "late Bightj Hon, Edward Elli'ce, and others, the rabbits increased tpan;alarming oxtent, and on these'estates' they W'thie''. fox, "the wild eat, pole eat, martin.cat,/stoats, v/easels, golden eagle; blue faloom','hawk, sparrow :hawk,':.&6,, all better hunters than the ferret, yet they seemed.to have, no effect on the rabbjta, and the nniianse had to be g6t'; , rid''6f-'by other'.-'means j so those Legislators whq. have so muoh confidence iothe'ferret Will; A !"ira'afraid, find the importation o.( them.a failure,, jßut by all 'means ( let jail eetblers have (trained ferrets for rabbiting "with 1 gun or dogs. The Babbit Aptofilast year ia,a one, and rabbit inspectors i.are; doing good work.;, If poisoning, and expert rabbitters cannot keep downand rid the country of the pest nothing else will. If thire is a tjentleman'in the whole-colony who has mastered the rabbits on his own property that honor belongs to,.Mr : W, 0. Buchanan, tbe'popular member for South Wairarapa. If you think any bf ; my remarks'of any importance you can publish them. I do not write by hearsay Wit as an «ye-wit-nesß to all I have said, M of J twenty yearspwctioal oxpenenoe of tbejsubject referred to, -'■•■;::■■.- /, • 1am,&0., .. ■ ■ ' JrjSIIOB. ;v; s v RAILWAY.FREIGHT.'

I' SIK, —Asyou are'justly jad»6qatmg a : reoiaotion in .freight on the Masterton railway, I,niay inform you 7 in support of your able leaders oil the subject tlitit I was Lohargeo!,2a, % 9d last week tor. parrying one dpien ot afe:;.<o"CaVt©M*Ot ,b'ut v it is the Ijaflf,2s9d^hey / ,ffill.get;''put f 6f;,to6, for I will get theni'tddo m.e |t;fp|,npihinK by seeding it-aa luggage in oare of *oraebn6;going that way. If this does '■ft'Qt'aniwetiiwU l.have; anothjer idea lifilltellyoß.on'ithfl.qmet. ■.:■ ».,'.'. ""- ■■ lam &0., | . ' U; V:'".' '}''■"'■ WfoXatok, ■"■■■"'■.■^■' '■■■■>" WelliJHrton. r , | We. have adyoqating a reduction' of rates, bat an alteration intthe aysi:lempf;i4atugeinent,by wbioh disore- .,: honary power should begivenio'dis"-" 5 - triot minuets -'to:foster traffic-En.