The Penn's Grove record., 1882-07-01
PENIS GROVE. SALEM COUNTY, N j., SATURDAY, JULY l., 1882.

progress of the evil without assistance
so men were hired to ferret, trap
shoot, or worry the invaders. Thes'
men travelled with large packs of dogs
numbering from one to two dozen
They were paid at the rate of I'd. 1
skin. 1t was, however, soon found
that the sale of skins fetched less thar
I 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 q limited term of years for
the purpose of rearing stock, 1t was
found In many cases not to be worth
the expense of attempting to cope with
the mischief. One cure after another
was tried, such as stopping the bur
rows with cotton-waste saturated in
bisulphide of carbon, but all were sue
cessively given up as useless efforts to
meet so widespread 8 evil. In many
cases 1t was found that the land could
no longer support one fourth of Its
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. / may quote a few items
from the evidence of many gentlemen
owning large sheep-runs in the Pro-
vinces Otsgo 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
500, 900 rabbits by poison s year ago,
but In the following spring their sheep
run was just as densely peopIed by
them as though not one had perished.
Mr.. Kitchen states that he kept nearly
a hundred men working a rabbit
killers for four months, and succeeded
la Gearing his land. Now they are
woree than ever. Mr., Rees say that
he killed 10000 last year, and his en-
ployer, Mr.. r. Campbell, expended
E3000i 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
Foveaux Strait is more or less infested
with rabbits Many districts are just
a vast warren, on which 1t is impossi-
BILE to keep sheep at all. Mr.. r. Camp
bell alone has been compelled to aban-
don $50 600 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, 1000 to 16, 900 acres. Many
estates, though less seriously injured
than these, have still suffered so greatly
that their value is immensely dete-
riorated. Eight runs, which formerly
broug7tin a rental of sl0O0 per annum,
now let for E170. The Burwood Run
is instanced as which used to carry
80. 900 sheep, but o barely provides
food for "a, 900. In 1878 the total num-
Der of sheep in the colony was upward
of 13, OOO, 900, in 1879 it was reduced to
about 1L500, 900, and this decrease,
though now considerably checked has
The loss on the exports of
wool and is estimated at E50O, 600 per
aHnum. On the other hand. in 1879
there were exported from New zsa-
land upward of 5 ,O00, 600 rabbit skins
value, f46, 759-and in the following
year upward of 7,000,0 600 rabbit skins
sold for ESQ. 976.