Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-05-26
RAnE1ra ANpKANGAKoOS.
Many Attempts At determination in
the AusfralIan CoianIes.

Many Attempts AZ DETERMINATION in
the Australian CoiSsIes.
[sGn Frrncsce Examiner. Nay AM
In all that has been written and told
lately concerning the Wholesale slaugh-
ter Of rabbits in FreIno and tho sdloln-
ing counties by means Of "driVes IS
true, dual object has been sstaiRsd-
viz, the introduction Of novel and OK
citing sport and the discovery OF an anti
dote 10 the rsvascs OF those herbivorous
pests. Just fancy 10, 600 dummies
being extermiuated ct one battue, and
the mod,s operQndi OF rounding up
viz, tie stretching OF two light wire
netting fences, which converge until they
culninate in q kind OF stocIyard, into
which the beaters drive their quarry, is
so simple that the wonder Is 1t was not
thought # long ago.
It Is morally cerIAin thet Australia and
New Zealand, those ra0bit-ridden coun-
tries, will he quick to adopt the idea,
and probably the farmers OF those dis
tant islands TH find the method more
effective in the matter Of nlaying the
rabbit nuisance than all the theories Of
| incubation.
An Examiner reporter met gentle
man recently who has been largely ldeu-
titled with pastoral interests both In
Auatralia and New Zealand, and from
him some interesting facts were ssccr-
/ tanned IT, connection with the efforts u
antipodean agriculture to combat the
plague Of the long-eared pests.
"The drive idea, said the gentleman,
| is not entirely new 10 Australians. They
/ have for years employed a somewhat slm-
liar method Of Riding pastoral lands Of
the destructive kangaroo. The usual
wav Vas 70 build a capGcious ck-ysrd,
with very high fences, for your able
| bodied kangaroo is no slouch at playing
leap-frog The location generally chosen
WIS on the fork Of river, for kGnGarOos
arc not extra partial 10 water. Invita-
/ tons 10 the roundup would then 10 sent
to neighboring farmers, and on spcci-
fed morning the farmers would all put
in an appearance. mounted and accom-
panied by whatever kangaroo hounds
they Glanced to posseRS Dogs and
oWnsrs would then get away back and
scatter out ia diminishing order until
laras section Of country Was covered, and
then circumnavigstion was IN order, the
object point, Of course, being the lofty
stock-yard.
Pretty soon you would hear the bay
ing Of scores sf hornSs and then the
lopz-jumpink na1upials would be seen
| lespiRE like gigantic frogs, whlls the
Ekirmshsrs would advance and close IN
steadily and systematically, controlling
the hounds the while, 20 IS to gradually
direct the hopping ksnsaroos to tho de-
sired point. When the mob, which on
occasions nunbs Many hundreds,
were finally housed in the place OF
daughter some one was sent to close tho
drawsa.e on them and the fun COM
menced. The dogs were restrained, and
family relies in the shape OF blunder-
buses and ancient hint-locks were
brought into requintion until the last
grass and crOp-despOiler had bitten the
dust"
"Kangaroos make it rough for tho
hounds on some occasions, do they not
asked the reporter.
"You bet they do. An old man kan
paroo is just as tough bltof mechanism
as ever dog tackled. When fairly cor
nered he will place his back against
tree or rock and invite the best dog IN
| the pack 10 como on. Old dogs are wary
of them, and use their best endeavors to
got al ear or neck-hold from behind,
but Young hound will frequently rush
| into the bayed marsugiAPs arms, so TO
speak. and II he gets away alive he IS
lucky. The kangaroo will balance him
self firmly on his tail. which Is both
powerful and springy, and will clasp the
/ dog around the body With his hind legs,
while be will utilize the sharp claws Of
| his fore-paws to tear tue brutes stomach
into ribbons and hsul its entrails ont.
81 remarked before that kaugaroos
did not take kindly to water, but when
eoaded 10 desperation on plain where
| there are no trees or rocks IN sight 70
back up against they will not hesitate to
| flop into water-hole, and 1t IS a matter
of history that kangaroo thus placed
has been known to grasp an attacking
hound aud hold him under water until
/ he was drowned.
1.-The days of rounding up are pretty
we'll at an end now, as the Government
of the different Australian colonies pay
so much 8 scalp for kangsroos, sad this
/ has induced numbers OF hunters to follow
the business Of kangaroo shooting. By
/ this means the Troublesome ADlmals are
kept down. and it is only q question OF
little time when they will be wholly
exteruinAted.
From ksngsroos the conversation
drifted back to the rabbit question, and
the gentleman from the nntipoaes re-
/ lated his experience in the matter, to-
gsther with the efforts OF Colonial
Governments to subdus the pests.
First OF AL, / suppose yOn have
heard shat valuable pastoral holdings,
both in New Zealand and Australia, have
had to be abandoned through the dspre-
1stions OF rabbits, and assure you that
the Losses thoss Misunderstanding crea-
lures have eatailed have been very much
under-estinated. The rabbits in the
colonies are borrowers, and this makes
them harder to get at. A few years ago
q system of fencing with wire. netting
was introduced there, but it only proved
effective On uniformly level land. hab-