RABBITS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1691, 21 May 1884, Page 2

RABBITS.

TO THE EDITOK, : - i Sir,—l observe a letter,''appearing in-y our-issue of the 12th. Beaded !'Babbits," and signed by.Ar-JfcDbli-ald; and as this is -a,.questionl which ought to interest New 'ZeaJa'nd';goaer. : ally, lam glad to find a man w(th such | experience as Mr Mcl)oriald'tling,up, the question, and has come'dowfiifon' us with such vengeance-striking'Wt • at : . our legislators, runholderis, %U finishing with a blow at the rabbit|;Qrs,: He ought to.awalce Hew Zealand tova sense of its duty, which may," prove beneficial in the end. I hayefhadta' little experience in' this rabbit ;ques;tion. But I differ .widely in. '.inf opinions from Mr .McDonald, and you' will oblige by allowing me. space in your extensively circulated paper'for, offering the public a few remarks on a; portion of his letter. ,1 dontent, my. selfjy replying to thosopassages most likely to interest ning t with: the .ferret- question, : Mr McDonald says ferrets arc a iuost useless undertaking.- I may understand; by that he; thinks them of no; use in' keeping down rabbits, but adfpitahey are useful when worked by hati'd; Now I cannot' understand him .in "this, remark, When we ; say ; we'%eak a ferret to work we simply mean-to get him as tame as possible, allowing-' the ferret to see that'man is'his friend and not bia'enemy,;. Directlj'the ferret begins' to work; al]' his : imovemen|s| being. •taught him through'in'stinct^'ajl ferrets, .workingalike,- all knowing.! their, preyl Its well as their /enemies : at>' fii'si sight. 'NW, thisiristinct : hjis ! ..taughl!hiffi% wheiit-'comes withiri-hisbreach,'l'Mr Wbllonald says;suchanimalsns cat3 r &c, only kill to' satisfy;" tlie ! :appe-' ; tifce, i NOW) ?I wish!:'tO;' : sh|w yojlVi

readers different, A case" which came under my observation about two months ago, a tame ferret found his way into a duok'yard in the Lower Tolley, killing ten in number, placing them in a heap, contenting himself with taking a small bit from the back of the head of-one, then left • t shortly afterwards secured him. Now, I will |sk Mr MpDonald had there been ten more or ten timea ten would they have been sa.fe under his power; and if it killing? If he intended "breakfasting on those he must have, had an enormous appe* tite,!)thO'ducks killed r being twenty timea^His ! own:,weighb, his next -day's ■repose/be fearfully disturbed by ky |,'day;mare, M . Imaintain that had there been rabbits, pukekoes. or rats instead pf ducks they, would all have shared the .'samei fate; VPhave worked a ferret weekly.;.fpr;eighteen months, and found.him tire after/killing rabbits a.whole .day,, and,', almost refuse duty, but would always kill ari'e'St of young ones, in all cases leaving them, not attempting to return to feed on them. Oiie tiling, I kept him well t'edj he never seemed to tiro killing young ones-twenty nests a day if offered to. himjand as ; I; mentioned before, all their actions, hunting, killing,. ruDiiing down their prey, die., being taught by .instinct, I consider the wild ferret has the'advantage over the tame one: : being placed on his own resources would make J him swifter, give him •courage, improve his scent, •and altogether'making him the'smartest .'animal and more useful for the destruction-of rabbits. 'Within the last t six weeks. I have picked up several old rabbits killed by'the" wild ferret. I have seen them:; oh 'then) beats, also -have been informed by bushmen, living: in tents, that they had heard the ferrets killing rabbits around them during night, tley (could not be .mistaken as one of thesYferrets entered their tent,' killing l a tame kaka. lam also prepared to prove that on three separate runs in this district, not pn]v! has the.ferret put .the fo&bits dowgr but is able to keep them,Bo; As they are now well to state that the;' doing good seryice le Wairarapa fpr s whichtheydiJ-'nbYget.credit. Runholders are surprised'Wme decrease of .rabbits, which they cannot account for. Thave; found/the ferret on; the hills, plains, ground, in every instance they |have been healthy, with beautiful coats/proving that our climate suited them,'and*should dead ones be found strewed over, the grouriS, as represented by Mr McDonald and others,it is time the runholders' suspicions were awakened' fo foul play,;: MiyMcßonald informs us, although we had all the natural enemies'of the' rabbit in New 'Zealand, they would not exterminate them, v and, as a proof of his statement, relat93 his experience from anexten-

sive deer forest in Scotland, where tin natural enemies were preserved for a purpose, and on that ground tho rab bits were, "more plentiful "; than anj other part of the North of Scotland Now this "dings a' "what on earth am '. ,am Ito make of this? I presume Mi McDonald's- powers of imaginati'or have carried him forward to the days ': of the millenium, when the lion anc the lamb are to lie down together.,Ai i read "more plentiful," I cannot con ceiye how rabbits and f p their enemies, .■ running, together in i paddock,; however largest may have been, supposing-the enemies to havi Jived neutral, how is the surplus slocl .to be accounted for being" more plen tiful" than on any of the extensive preserves where so much money is spen in putting down the natural enemies I must leave this in the hands of Mi McDonald', as it is beyond my hension. In all my experience I havi found it quite the contrary., I coulc mention numerous instances' of the same, but wiil content myself by laying one before the public, which meantinu I hope.-will suffice, I leased a large tract of land for a gentleman for tin purpose of game farming in- Kirken brightshire, Scotland. ' This had nol been used for that purpose for manj years, therefore, respecting game, rabbits, and their; enemies they existec together in a natural state, and, ai might be /expected, both game anc rabbits were very scarce, The first .winter I did not start a'dozen rabbits on this large run of 22,000 acres, but at this time I had five men. employed killing, .Termjn,' a. name used, for stoats,, hawks, &i, and-in twelve, months ] counted over 2000 head of those vermin killed. At the end of the first breedjng, season I few. rabbits, 'at the end of the second I found fhein considerably increased, at the end of 'the third I'have gonei out, taking with me my. gun and a couple of. spaniels; bagging thirty couple of rabbits in an afternoon. I. have, no pjbber reason to acMntfpr, the rapidincrease but by of-the; natural eneiny,., which-of course': was ddney- "I-quite;-agree with Mr Mo-Ddfa'ald-s.lroajarJis re.cheap rabbiters; jaVexperwncei men airworthy of their :hire. ; ; As; the. latter' part of Mr McDonald's letter is, of; so littlo weight 'or importance, to the.general public, I willrefrahvfrom' encroaching.further on your valuable, space.. One word for the .Legteprs who;voted;for'the ihtroduction of the natural enemies of tlie'rabbit.; Theyjlthink, deserve the' thanks. of the, whole community for thfefor'esight. ;' I remain, <fcc., ; J, GiIBRAITH,

Lower Valley, ; 19th May, 1884.

;;J;. ... ToTHEEdITOB. {'■ {■;■ reply to' "lair Play," if it is/possible: that:other persons are'as .ignorant as himself, viz,, as to allow rotten garbage to.accumulate, on thoir premises, my. opinion is the same. I should' think as ail' those with'an ordinary' share of sense would think, the, sooner for his own sake as well as for the; sake of his neighbors, his nuisance was.burnt tho'betten Now, sir, his advice ,re opening ; win"dowsand doors is certainly niore ; sensible unless jthappensthatypu'liye,within ahalf'chaih'of a slailghter-house;Vand. the' smells; from these premises 'are uy bearable.. .That .would certainly / in^excepte ; y ' ; ;; ' ! .. ' /