THE RABBIT NUISANCE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2199, 12 August 1886, Page 2

THE RABBIT NUISANCE.

Oun To Awamutu correspondent writes : — In your issue of the 7th instant exception is t ikon to tho accuracy of *>ome of my statements in leference to the so-called rabbit pest. The only statement I made which may not have been absolutely correct is that which refew to two rabbit killers. When referring to it I said "I had been informed" there were two. In this of course.-!, may have been wrong, as\J only renewed whatj I had heard, but as regards^ the , remainder of my letter, in which I contended there was no such thing as a rabbit nuisance, I still maintain it is absolutely true in every paiticul.tr, your informants^ statements to the contrary notwithstanding. The letters from Mr Grierson and Mr Tisdall do not prove that I am wrong. Mr Grierson simply asks that all land-owners may be ordered to lay poison as well as himself. He says Mr Harper states he was not instructed by othei.s to lay poison, by which we are to infer that they are not doing so. Mr Tisdall, on the other hand, says "everybody is having a try now," but neither says that the rabbits ar.e as numerous as to necessitate the laying |of poison. I saw Mr Grierson on the .">th instant, and he said the rabbits were not 'a nuisance, and that in one of his paddocks " there was at one time fully two thousand of them,~but that now there A were not anything like two dozen. A friend told mo he and another went to Mr Grierson's to shoot rabbits ; they had a ferret and two dogs, but got no sport. Mr Scott's farm was the one I referred to when I said tho party on the 24th tilt, only got fourteen for their d.ty'ft work. I shot over almost the whole of Mr Germnnn's and Mr Fox's farms on the anno day, and saw only two. On Mr Foster's firm—where they certainly were mur.erous a few years ago— two men only got two for their day's work. After Mr Ligeriwood got notice, two men wore sent to his place, and they only saw threo rabbit". On Mr H. Roches farm, where they wore numerous at one time, there are not now half a dozen on the whole place. Mr Steele and party, may have killed a hundred in a day, but if they did they must have travelled over a considerable area, and the pliioo mentioned has always had more rabbifs than any other place, and even there they are being thinned off by constant shooting. I admit they were getting very numerous at one time, but the settlers themselves set to work and boon reduced their numbers. My contention is that the country is paying far too much money in the matter, Mr Oldham is quite competent to attend to the matter in connection with his other duties without the assistance of an expert whos.e appointment, as far as ,W»ikato is concerned, is a piece of extravagant folly. As regards tho rabbit killer or killers, I still maintain he or they are not required, I was told a fow days ago there wore two, but of course if Mr Oldham says there is only one it must be so, as he is the inspector, and knows better than any other person. I am told this ratibit killer gets ton shillings a day and ammunition, too high by six shillings, for he can find a ready m irkot for tho game. His pay and that of Mr Hargraves might well be saved to the country. Everyone acknowledges the rabbits wero far more numerous at one time than now, and it certainly is strange the authorities are only now taking any notice of them when they are rapidly decreasing. I have spoken to most 6f tho farmers where the rabbits were most numerous and all agree in saying they are not by any means a nuisance. So long howeTer as reports to tho con.tr.iry are sent in to the Government, so lonjf will we have to pay the salaries of an expert and a professional killer. Apropos of the rabbit nuisance, I see Sir Julius Vogel says he is not quite sure that stoats and weasels would not become a greater post than the rabbit-" 1 , but he thinks the fox is their natuial enemy. If the Government think of introducing any, I would suggest at the same time they should import some martens, dingoes, snakes and eagle hawks, so aa to' make the list of nuisances complete ; a fow dozpn ferrets turned loose would complete the list nicely. A short time ago, in the Middle Island, one of tho latter was found fastened to a baby's throat, and but for the timely arrival of the mother would havo killed it, but then the loss of a few babies is nothing to anyone but the parents. The runholders will yet rue the day they imported the stoat and weasel for unless the hard winters in the southern hills keep them down they will turn their attention to lambs after killing the rabbits, if not before. In conclusion, I would suggest that if they must be employed, the appointment of rabbit killers be leff to the road boards, — who are tho most interested — and who will sec that no moro is expended than is necessary. For ought we know to the contrary the persons employed may be only killing time instead of rabbits, but if the local bodies had supervision over them they would only be employed when and where absolutely required. I am willing to admit the rabbits are fairly numerous in one or two places, but not sufficiently so to become a nuisance or require the presenc« ol an "expert."

A xoted politician is reported to have stood two hours on the kerbstone, the night after the election, waiting for the red lia;ht over an open sewer to come along, supposing it to be the lamp of a tram. He says he hadn't drunk more than usual either. An Italian professor, wishing to find out whether the miasma of malaria existed in the dew and soil, experimented on himself by having infusions of dew and soil collected from unhealthy places, injected under his skin. He experienced no evil results. He and his friends made fifty-two similar experiments without harm. Mr John O'Grady offers a reward fot the re-

covcry of a colt. It U the intention of the Waitoa Road Board at their next meeting to be held on the 28th inst , to strike a general rate of a halfpenny in the £ on all rateable property in the Waitoa Road district.