The Sentinel. [volume] (Trenton, N.J.) 1880-1882, 1882-07-08
A Pest Of Rabbits.

FROM these gentlest of furry foes.
About twenty years ago colonist
brought seven rabbits from the old
country to his new home at Invercar-
gill, i'll the southern isle. 1t was
thought that to turn these adrift on
the bleak sandhills along the coast
could not fail to prove q benefit to
the colony For some years this an
iOyed excellent shooting on thelinks(as
swered capitally, and the colonists en-
such seaboard is called in ScotIand).
But ere long the rabbits increase to
such an extent that they cropped
every blade OF grass and even devoured
the roots, which alone bound the
light sandhills and prevented them
from blowing over the better soil in
land. Very soon this evil occurred,
and the land was greatly injured.
Then the farmers on the seacoast be-
gan shooting and trapping in earnest;
but by this time some more rabbits
had been imported to Otaqo, and from
these two centres the mischief rapidly
spread. Considering that each rabbit
breeds eight times a year and pre-
duces an average OF six young at each
litter, it is easy to perceive how rapid
must be their increase. On the other
! hand, their human foes are few. the
settlers in the interior living eight or
ten miles apart-a lonely life, in
| truth, where perhaps half dozen
| men herd the tlocks which ran re over
| 50, 900 acres. 1t became evident that
these shepherds could ever check the
progress of the evil without assistance
so men were hired to ferret, trap.
! shoot, or worry the invaders. These
men travelled with large packs of dogs.
numbering from one to two dozen.
They were paid at the rate of I'd. a
skin. 1t was, however, soon found
that the sale Of skins fetched less than
they cost, while the presence of
strange dogs disturbed the sheep and
often resulted in their being worried.
The sheep-runs being in general tracts
OF Crown land, merely rented by the
farmer for limited term of years for
the purpose of rearing stock, it was
found in II any cases not to be worth
the expens, OF attempting to cope with
the mischief One cure after another
was tried, such as stopping the bur-
rows with cotton waste saturated in
bis'llphide of carbon, but all were sue
cessively given .rases useless efforts to
meet 80 wide-sprea~ evil. In many
cases it was found that the land could
no longer support one fourth Of it's
former number of sheep, so the holders
were absolutely compelled to throw up
their leases and abandon their runs.
The extent of the ravages could hardly
be credited were it not for the cut-and-
dry statistics of the Rabbit Nuisance
Committee. l may quote few items
from the evidence of many gentlemen
owning large sheep-runs in the Pro-
vinces Otago and South Canterbury.
Many begin by stating how incredu-
lous they were at first that rabbits
would even take TO the new country
sufficiently to afford them sport. All
too quickly their eyes were opened.
For instance, in South Canterbury
Messrs. Cargill and Anderson killed
100000 rabbits by poison year ago,
but in the following spring their sheep
run was just as densely peopled by
them as though not one had persisted.
Mr.. Kitchen states that he kept nearly
hundred men working as rabbit
killers for four months, and succeeded
in clearing his land. Now thew are
worse than ever. Mr.. Rees say that
he killed 180,0O0 last year, and his en-
ployer, Mr.. R. Campbell, expended
$4,000 in one year in attempting to keep
down the pest on his runs of 1853 600
acres. Still the plague spreads, and
the whole land from Waitaki to
toveaux Strait is more or less infested
with rabbits Many districts are Just
vast warren, on which it is impossi-
BILE to keep sheep at all. Mr.. r. Camp
bell alone has been compelled to aban-
don 100000 acres, chiefly in South
land and Wallace counties, and on
the North Maria Lake and Greensboro
Valley several other sheep farmers
have also been forced to abandon runs
of from Is 600 to $1,000 acres. Manv
estates, though less seriously Injured
than these, have still suffere5 so greatly
that their value is immensely dete-
riorated. Eight runs, which formerly
broughtin rental of $1,000 per annun.
now let for el70. The Burwood Run
IS lnstanced as one which used to carry
10000 sheep, but nov barely provides
food for "a 900. In 1873 the total num-
Der Of sheep in the colony was upward
Of l3,OO0,000, in 1879 it was reduced IN
about 1l,5O0,000, and this decrease
though now considerably checked has
continued. The loss on the exnorts If
wool and is estimated at $500 600 ner
/ n hn a4l,