RABBIT BOARD.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3634, 9 October 1890, Page 2

RABBIT BOARD.

The ordinary (monthly meeting of the North Wairarapa Rabbit Board 8 wag held -in the County offices 1 yesterday, Present;Messrsßeetkui, | (chairman), Groves, Moore, Murray* j and Maunsell. •, j l'he minutes of the previous meeting were read aud confirmed, ' ' CORRESPONDENCE, 1 From Loan and Mercantile Agency ( Co., stating that a shipment of 180 j stoats and ISO weasels was being ' forwarded by the Rangatira.— 1 Received, ' j From same, stating that advico ' had been received from their Home 1 office, intimating that the Bloats-and 1 weasels could not bo shipped before 1 December.—The Chairman said lie had replied to the Company, asking them to ship as early as possible, and lie bad since been advised that a shipment was comiug by the Rangatira, . FrornJ Grant, complaining that his neighbour, Mrs Dorset, at To Whit', was not taking steps to destroy therabbits on herproperty.—Received, From W C Buchanan, stating that certain moneys were due to him from the Board on shipments of the natural enemy, It was resolved that the amount bo passed tor payment. FINANCE, The following accounts wore passed for payment Stationery, £2 8s j ■ Jfayton and Co., £2 19s lid; WairarapaiStandard, £1 2s fid;Wairarapa Star, £1 18a 8d; Clerk's salary, £4 8 s 4d; Inspector's salary, £2O IGsßd. The Clerk reported a credit in the bank of 5s 3d, aud outstanding accounts amounting to 1100. In answer to a question, the Clerk stated that the income of the Board would be about £2500 a year, which, with the subsidy from the ; Government, meant £SOOO. i The Clerk was instructed to , remind persons in arrears of rates i that they must pay within fourteen ■ days, l IMPORTATION OF PHOSPHORUS, i - The Inspector stated that Mr J, C, Andrew had informed him that [ phosphorus was being imported in [ Blenheim at the rate of about 2s 3d ' per pound,, with the insurance i covered, and had suggested that tlie j Board might take v some action' in , the matter of importing. , It was stated by members that over : three shillings per pound was being t paid for phosphorus in Masterton. It was resolved that the Clerk write to the importer at Blenheim and find out who is the agent, and ■ in the event of tho reply being satisfactory a communication be sent to the agent regarding prices, etc. RABBIT PASTE, The Inspector, stated that Mr t Andrew had also oalled his attention to the fact that a Mr Staveley, of Marlborough, had a very successful . patent' paste for the- destruction of r rabbits, He (the inspector) thought, however, there would be a dinger of I tho stoats and weasels being affected 1 by its use, The composition was of Hour and arsenic. The Clerk was instructed to write j for information on the subject. Inspector's Report. The report of the Inspector was J read as follows Sir.—l bog to hand you my report . for the period from 11th September to date. Since last meeting of the Board I j. have inspected a considerable area of j country in tho southern and middle portions of the district. The southern j. portion visited is generally in a satis- , factorycondition, Some fewproperties J will, however, require carefulattention to prevent the nuisance spreading. I The settlement of the country along ' Q tho Gladstone Jlat Point road at the j head of tho Pahoa River will I fear bo a source of trouble unless energetic measures. are adopted, The rabbits are scattered very much tt through the bush, living on the bark jot softwoods, and from time to time emerge on to the settlers' cleared aud I grassed lands. Small patches of fallen bush are also a great harbour. The h country is difficult to deal with owing 8 to fires having run through tho bush leaving it in a semi cleared state/ t The middle portion of the district, within say a radius of some 12 to 15 miles of Tenui, is the worst infected block in the whole district. Here I find some good t?ork has been done since my last visit, but I regret to f lmvo to state on the other hand there are some few instances of very great negligence, but as I intend to lay t information in these cases I will not r now comment upon them. You will i, however, note full particulars in my I diary which I append hereto. The e heavy rain which fell during the first t week in September wa3 instrumental i in destroying a large number of young 1 rabbits, and materially reduced the y pest on all heavy clay soils, Babbits • are now, however, breeding very : rapidly, and owners should pay great t attention to the digging out of slips a and other means of destruction. You 1 will be pleased to learn that there are 8 numerous instances of the" natural f enemies" giving large assistance in i destroying tho pest, and from my [ own observation I am strongly of l opinion that on some rocky country 3 the rabbits have either been killed or 1 driven away by. them. The a principal work of destruction is done 3 in tho burrows among the young 3 rabbits, but cases are not wanting ■ whore stoats have boon seen killing - full grown rabbits in the 3 open. Porhaps there is a , tendency with somo owners l to already leau too much on what the t natural enemies are doing, or supi posed to be doing. This is a grave , mistake, for 110 matter what the few ) animals that liavo been liberated ) may bo doing to aid in the work c of destruction, it must be sn^all > indeed when compared with ilio largo t area' of country to bo dealt with; t their work must bo supplemented by - intelligent and persistent assistance i for some years to come on the part of t the settlers." It is only by settlers I keeping tho pest down to a minimum i that the natural enemy will in the , end gain tho victory. I regret to 3 state that I haye again noticed cases i of trappers setting traps in the t entrances qf burrows, I havo noti- > fied their employers, and have reason [ to think that tl|e practico will be i stopped. While mentioning traps I ' am glad to be able to inform you I that they aro being used to a very f limited extent. I was very pleased to i note the work done on one station, i where a piece of sandy coast country, , which a few years ago had been a i veritable warren, is now almost froe i from the pest, This has been I accomplished by the use of spade and i grubber in a thoroughly systematic ; manner. The of the rabbits were completely destroyed by digging i or filling in, and although the-work ; was done some time since, the good i effect still remains. I would commend i this plan to those who suffer from i the effect of rabbits in similar country, . It is noticeable that the use of spade and ■ grubber. i? beaming rnore

general, and the benefit is appreciable on several holdings. It lias beenbrought under my notice, that considerable doubt exists in'ratepayers' : minds as to the conditions upon which the bonus offered by the Board will be paid to ratepayers who breed ferrets. 'There is an impression that the Board reserves the right to liberate any ferrets on whioh it. pays the bonus anywhere within the district. This is a mistake. The conditions are that the animals are bred by ratepayers, reared on rabbits and water, be subject to supervision. of the Inspector as to health before being liberated, and to where they should be turned out with properly of the breeder, There is a strong desire in the hearts of many land-. owners, both large and small, that the clause of the Babbit Act, 1890, dealing with rabbit proof feiicing be . brought into operation' as : speedily as possible. To do so requires that, a petition be signed by a majority ~ of ratepayers in any . county, road district, or other part of the colony and presented to the Governor, who then proolaims clauses 4 to 7 in: s operation in such district, and rabbit proof fencing becomes a legal fence under the fenoing Aot. I would urge the Board to at once take the initia- ' tive in this matter, and circulate a petition for signature. It is very important that settlers who desire to erect rabbit proof fenoing should have-the advantages given under the Aot,' It is also of importancethatasmuchrabbit ' proof iencing be erected before next • poisoning season as possible, Now that the Board is taking steps to iinport ■ at great cost the natural enemies, and many settlers are about to commence ferret breeding, the time has, J think, arrived for owners to seriously review the various means adopted for the destruction of rabbits -notably that which is known as the "'contract system" or payment by so much per skin or scalp oi tabbit, I am not alone in my jpinion that this plan is most per* niciouß to the settlers' interest, and inimical to the natural enemy in the first degree. If a contract system ia to be a sine qua mi .then let it be based on some more uniform lines md assimilated to other contract systems. At present it varies from ill other systems, in that a certain work is not to be performed in a jiven period. If settlers, as a whole, favor a contract system I would ask ihem to consider whether it would aot be preferable to let contracts to iear given mm of rabbits in a liven spaeeof time than to continue i system at so muoli per head, which ih'e contractor terminates" so' soon is he cannot make a big tally, or at ihe very time when the rabbits have ieen lessened, and should be attacked ill the harder and thoroughly nastered, The contract system 'at iresent in vogue should, in my ipinion, be swept away entirely, is one of the first means if protecting the natural enemy and letting the upper hand of the pest, t would lengthen my report too nuoli to go into all the particulars of his subject, but I trust the question 1 rill be thoroughly threshed out at a fleeting of ratepayers which will be ield on the 28th inst under the uspices of the Board in Masterton. . am, eto.

Thomas Mackay, Inspector. With reference to the suggestion contained in the report, regarding wire netting, it was resolved that the feeling of the district be tested on the matter by petition. The report of the Inspector as read was adopted, The meeting then adjourned.