STOATS AND WEASELS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3597, 26 August 1890, Page 2

STOATS AND WEASELS.

[From the Hawke's Bay H braid.] Sir—l have just seen your report of .the meeting of the Hawke's Bay Agricultural anil Pastoral - Society, and note the discussion on the question of introducing the stoat and weasel, also the result of the meeting of the; Babbit Board, where Messrs Crosse and Ilandyside voted for, and Messrs Coleman, Price, and Speedy againßt; their introduction. I have a great regard for Mr Coleman.. I believe him to be . a shrewd business man, I feel sure that, his opinion would have great weight with a very large'majority of the Hawke's Bay settlers. , Therefore ■ I would like to make a few remarks on the subject. ' ' '

A committee of the House of Representatives, after a very exhaustive inquiry, gave their verdict in favor of the natural enemies. A

student of'history and nature could arrive at no other conclusion than

;hat the natural enemieß wero tho only rational and economio solution of the

difficulty, What are natural enemies? There are many. The, first I will refer to is man, but as the natural, increase of man isslowwhencompared with tho rabbit, and tia hia influx from the outer world is much checked by the rabbit nuisance, we must look about for some other,natural enemy to help him. The ferret is good; it has

done and is doing good work; but experience proves that it is delicate, and perhaps a little lazy; it is not

sufficient, it requires help, Let us introduce the stoat and weasel; it is the only way to make the best of a bad job. We liavo disturbed the balance of nature by introducing the rabbit, wo must endeavour-to restore it by introducing their natural enemies, Few can regret more than myself that it' is neces. sury to do so. Mr Coleman

remarks that" desperate diseases take iesper'ate remedies," Surely the lisoased is desperate enough I The

losses through rabbits in the. colony represents tens of millions—more than a million annually. " But," ho Baid, " are sbeepfarmers in that condition now If a great many of the Hawke's Bay settlers are not soon

in a desperate condition, they will not have to thank those who at the Rabbit Board meeting voted against the natural enemies, but they will owe thanks to a small section of the community who have undertaken the,

burthen o( stocking the North Island with stoats and weasels, and who are paying a heavy tax in addition to their heavy loss through rabbits for many years past. Is this fair and just? "They might," ho says, "do good service whero rabbits- are thick,' but what would they do when tho rabbits uud feathered game were all gone)" i reply that Jie rabbits and birds and stoats and weasels, and ferrets and other natural enemies will do as they have done in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, viz.,'continue to inhabit New Zealand, and, let us hope, with somo assistance from man they will balance one another. The report goes onHere there were few rabbits, and wiro fencing and other means were being employed to prevent them ever becomingnumerous. At present at least. there was no necessity to introduce' stoats and weasels. (Hoar, hear.)" The cost in round numbers of fencing in tho Hawke's Bay district

into blocks of ten thousam

acres square with wire netting placed on a fence already ereoted, would be £500,000 ; it would cost £50,000

annually to keep it in repair; say, two men to each 10,000 aores to keep the rabbits down (there are many properties hereof half that size where two and three men are found to be necessary); 1000 men at LIOO, LIOO.OOO. ' Interest on fencing, L 500,000 at G per ceut, LBO,OOO ; keep fenco in repair, 5L50.000 ; poisoned grain and distributing, L 70,000 ; rabbiters, LIOO,OOO ; probable loss in produce ot wool and mutton (low estimate), L 250,000; total, L 500,000, I believe that a sufficient number of natural enemies, liberated before the rabbits are established, would render this large expenditure in fencing unnecessary. Without them, I believe that it will bo absolutely necessary, That is the result of our dear-bought experience, Why "lock the door when the.horse is slalon " Would ihey," gOBB on thereport, "deliberately starve or become so ferocious as "to attack men, to say nothing of lambs ?" I liavo lived in tbat part of England whencowe receive our supplies—where they were vsry numerous—yet I never beard of a case of their killing lambs, '(he cases of their attacking mankind are extremely rare. Hitherto in this country the ferrets have confined thomsolves to killing a baby on the ovo of ap election—but the baby hp always resurrected the neyt day. "Ho had," Mr Coleman goes on, "no objection to give momentary assistance to other societies," I would like to find that every settler in the fluwke's Bay district owning over 500 sheop held these views, and that the stocking the North Island with stoats and weasels could be shared between them and ourselves, The report proceedsMr Hislop seconded the motion, saying that if the stoats and weasels over got here the settlers would be very glad to get rid of them," There may be some rich men in Hawke's Bay' who', oan afford to pre-

servo gurao, who "have a soul abora wool and mutton," who are in the same position us the landlords in the Old Country who' employ keepers to destroy the "atoata and weasels that they may have liuros and rabbits and birds to shoot, but what do the farmers say ? They respect the sioats and weasels, and exclaim loudly against our taking them away, Do we require better evidence than this ? I again quote" Mr Anderson said an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of cure." He understands the'subject-listen to him I Mc Archibald McLean thought'' that if proper precautions were taken, oil cover destroyed, and proper inspectors to see that the work was done, they need not fear that they couid keep back the rabbits without such pests as stoats and weasels." Mr MoLean does nol understand it—dp not listen to him j Some of tho worst country we have to deal.wjth at the present time is absolutely' * clear ; of scrub, nd resembles muohof the Hawke's Mr Gainsford evidently realises. the importance of ' the question.' He would introduce stoats ajjd even if they did kill a

few laiubs and fowls. He-knows that it would not lake'tbe rabbits long to reduce the sheep in Hawke's Bay by 25 per cent. History.' points to countries that have been abandoned to the rabbits. How many huudredi "< of .thousands of acres have boea -jfUjjj abandoned to them in New Zealnndi * - andliow many industrious settlers ruined? Far more than Hawke's . Bay settlers know of; men often prefer to suffer in silence. Mr Fitzßoy aptly desoribes the situation: ' - "Hawke's Bay was just below the great wave of rabbits." It' is a ware that no power can dam back. -lam, to,

William Hi Beetham. Mastarton,'August 16. P.S.—While the wave is i'ojli^oa" is it not possible that tho weasels might do gold by reducing the number yj, of larks? A farmer 011 the Karamu JjL,. Uldmothat he had a large field of barley coming up beautifully, and he ; expected a heavy crop. Suddonly the larks took a fancy to it; they .did not leave & single blade. WHat better meal for a weasel than aneafc of youag lavkß?—W.H.B.