The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1873-12-27
The Rayages of Rabbits i'm Great Britain.

In many counties of England and Scot
land, there is an intense and bitter feeling
among the farmers against the existing
game laws, on account Of the protection
they afford to hares and rabbits. The
farmers own the soil, they till in but very
few instances. The farms are leased to
them by the great landholders on leases,
varying from one year to twenty-one years;
and if nothing is said in the lease about
the right to shoot game-which is an incor-
poreal hereditament-in England it belongs
to the tenant. But as rule the privilege
of shooting is reserved in the lease, and
the landholder either enjoys it himself, or
lets it at Il good price to sporting friend.
The shooting rents for 81, 600 year, on a
farm which brings in rental of So, 900 per
annum from the farming tenant. AS the
farmer pays the full value for his lease, he
can ill-afford to take the shooting himself,
and even when he is willing to do so, the
landlord will often refuse to let it to him.
Yet on this same farm the rabbits and
hares will make sad havoc among the crops
and destroy as much as the value of the
shooting. Even when the farmer is al
lowed to shoot the rabbits on his land they
breed in the outside coverts and in the night
come out in droves and devour his crops.
A high wire fence will stop the rabbits,
unless they are hungry, but the hares will
clear it on jump. The latter will come
three or four miles for the pleasure of
revel among the turnip fields. In field
of this kind hare will bite chip here
and there as he passes along, and every
turnip so bitten is certain to rot. The
wheat is trampled down for miles and
often cut OFF Or grazed down. The dam
age done to crops by these animals varies
from Ct e5 or more an acre, and the indi-
rect damages are very large. In a county
where game abounds, some crops, such rs
carrots and winter vetches cannot be sown
at all. Oats are sown where wheat would
have been. and the farmer grows as few
roots as possible. Rabbits have been
known to kill large trees and in Forfar-
by the hares. twenty-five years ago Lord
IIathertcn and other eminent English agri-
culturalists gave it as their opinion that
the preservation of rabbits and hares was
not to be reconciled with good farming.
They increase so rapidly that in any event
it would be difficult to keep their numbers
within narrow limits.
How rapid this increase is the evidence
of Mr.. Walker of Aberdeenshre shows:
"The former tenant of the farm l occu-
pied told me that the first rabbit he saw on
the farm was in 1919. They did not know
what the beast was and they killed it."
Ten years after this he killed 272 rabbits
on the same farm in fortnight.
In the same county, Aberdeenshire, in
1865, 10000 rabbits were killed in the
course of the year on one estate.
The movement against the game laws is
sustained by the chambers of Agriculture
in the different counties. These associa-
tons are composed of thousands of land
owners and occupiers.
A Parliamentary committee was ap-
pointed last year to inquire into the work
ing Of the game laws with view to their
amendment. This committee-of which
Mr. G. w. Hunt is chairman-has reported
in favor of no longer protecting rabbits.
but by vote of ten to eight in the commit
tee, it was decided to report in favor of
maintaining the protection now given to
hares. 1t is not probable that the Cham
bers of Agriculture and the farmers will be
satisfied with this compromise report. The
next session of Parliament will doubtless
be enlivened by some interesting debates
on this queston.-Nem York Sun.