Correspondence.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3325, 3 October 1889, Page 2

Correspondence.

The Babbit Question. I 1 TO THE EDITOR.' 0 Sin, —lii your issuo of Saturday e last you published a letter written by ;• Mr W. H, Beetham in which ho come monts upon a suggestion made by me n at the public meeting held at Masterr ton on Wednesday evening last to 'i discuss the rabbit question, Mr Bee--1 tham is to be thanked for not allowa ing the matter to drop, as further il discussion in the papers may lead to f other suggestions being made in t improving the Rabbit Act. With e your. permission I would like to give 1 my views upon the subject in the >• columns of your paper. In making e the suggestion at the meeting, the e object I had in yiew was to fix some v line which should bo considered the 5 normal level at which the rabbits ■i should be kept by landowner?, being e the degree at which they do not do !i appreciable harm, instead of leaving that matter to the discretion of the Inspector. Many settlers liavo lately found out that the opinion of the rabbit inspector, upon tho question of what constitutes the rabuib being numerous is an unknown quantity to r be helplessly guessed at by the rabbit • stricken settler, and upon his failing i In make tbo right guess he is f summoned to Court and lined, The i officers of the rabbit department ? have no doubt boeu actuated by the . desire to keep the rabbits down now during tlio most active time of the r breeding season ; and to a certain f extent they have done good in stirring up settlers to take vigorous action i against the rabbits, but the mistake • they have made is in the indiscrimI inato way the prosecutions have boon ■ carried out. In some cases a hint that the rabbits were getting numer. ■ ous would have been enough. With i regard to t|ie matter of drawing t i line of what might be considered the i low water mark at which at which I rabbits should be kept, there no doubt i will bo differences of opinion. But ' as far as my experience goes on runs, , I would say that where'a rabbitter. i with twenty good dogs, working by i contract at so much per skin, cannot ■ catch mere than an average of twenty per day for it week, say from tho : termination of poisoning up' to about j midsummer, proof of which should be shown by his diary which should be ' i open to inspection at any time to the ' 1 inspector; or say a trappor working ' as many traps as he can manage , cannot £"? cu rrent wages at 2s fid per ■ dozen skins large anu mm?., '" en , tbo rabbits should bo considered as ' being ■ fairly kept dpwp, f gather ' from Mr Boothaiii's letter that he ' prefers entrusting the matter to the discretion of the inspectors, Nor would I hesitate to place myself en. ' tirely in Iheirhands, provided tboy had '

the gift of infallibility. But seeing that they are erring mortals like other men I can'onjy regard the great poweis placed iu their hands wjtii feelings of misgiving, Touching tl)e subject of the formation of a Rabbit Board I think that such a body would be able to mitigate the sevority of the Act us now carried oiit, At any rate the meeting together of a body of. settlers as trustees would bring together usefid information upon the rabbi! question, and give opportunities for diseasing t|)B merits of the. several HRQIIW to bo employed iu t(je, suppression file rabbit, such ob the host natural enemy to cultivate, i erection of wire netting fences, and the best for laying poison, and generally carry out tlio pi'jncjpje of self help, As the campaign against the rabbit is likely to be a long one, a well considered system on the'part'of the eettlers will be necessary to cope effectually with the rabbit difficulty. '.lain.%,'.'" . R'. JU'IJNSELL, Teuui, October Ist,! 889,