The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-25

49,. ~ h'NfH hN.Pb hih obiAN
districts were for the time cleared by its effect.
In the same colony, aud largely in the same dis
triCts, not fewer than three millions of sheep,
and perhaps a quarter OF a million head OF
cattle. also fell victims to the same drought. BY
the time the ranks Of the Trimmed tiocks were
again filled up the muster roll Of the rabbit bat
talions was already Ms full as ever.
The great extent of the country and the ma
ture OF its occupancy, for as yet II can hardly
be called {. settlement, are the two factors
which mainly 80 TO cause the difficulty Of the
rabbit problem. In the vast district lying be-
tween The 10Th and 3sth parallels Of south lati-
tude a district which roughly measures about
1000 miles by u breadth Of 500 the country is
either very scantily occupied or not occupied at
all. Its great plains, corresponding in many re-
held almost entirely by s]ouatters or rnniolicrs,
who use them only ~ II feeding ground for vast
moEks q hon,aniG slesr or stu more nomadiG
very often a little paradise of its kind situated
IN some favored valley. or perched on the shell
wide stretch " country all his, own. There he
has his home paddocks, where he breeds horses
for the Indian market. Here are his shear
ing sheds; his. garden. perhaps II vineyard
but, outside this charmed ring fence he builds
not g,eNcept it may be two ur three grent wntcr
tanks as = provision for q lime of drought. He
does nothing, and, indeed. he could do little.
IN q run which may mean ANYTHING from tltty
sand acres, IL is No easy matter to srg-
gest . plan of campaign by which tho
%squattcr can hope to wage n successful war
fare with his enemy. On a run Of the largest
size he might keep from forty TO ffty regular
hands employed rs oversecrs. boundary riders.
shepherds. and men at the home station: but
were all these employed In hunting rabbits their
efforts could NOT possibly make any impression
Npto this lime the policy Ct fencing out the
invading rabbit is the only one that has Yielded
anything like q satisfactory result. Tie material
employ ed is gal, anized wire made with II mesh
sufficiently finr tn exclude even young rabbits.
such fences now extend for many hundreds or
thousands of miles between infested and unin-
Tested districts in several of the colonies. These
are the outpOsts of the warfare that Is wngCd
daily betwccn the, human. %cccnpicr and
the, invading rabbit, and the conflict
Is fierce as well as unC"asing. There is no idea
here Of rcapine any profit. or even Of rescuinR
some small compensation. No one dreams. i'll
Australia. Of making use of the flesh. or even Of
preserving the skins, The war is one VI simple
cxtermination. and the iierccucssu VI the struggle
makes the mere destruction OF the lives Of the
enemy the one Thought Of the tarty attacked.
To Kill the invaders only to kill them. by all or
any means Is the watchword Of the conflict in
Australia. No one shoots them: nobody hunts
them with dogs: both these methods have long
since been .abandoncd as no better than II waste
OF tlIhsi me system OF trapping, However. in
doubleday done something toward thinning their
numbers aud checking their adrance.
The Australian rabbit trap is essentially part
OF the rabbit fencing-out policy. A rabbit proof
fence is intended not only to prevent the animal
vent him getting through by means of burrow-
ing. With this object it goes n few inches below
this is sufficient {" prevent the enemy from
making any. attempt TO carry the line Of defence
want OF knowledge of it's own powers. Nothing
could, of course. be easier than to run a mine
below the fence. If only it possessed the required
Intelligence: but, rs n matter of fact. the rabbit
burrows only to form habitntions. and not to
get from one place to. another. Had II been
otherwise, 1t would have been vain to fight forthe
possession of the Australian runs. Here and there
indeed, II burrow begun on one side OF a fence
chance. The army Of invasion snrges up against
the barrier: tries to force "A passage; tries even
a spn 1fSp T Ths n II: sanr falling IN this; surges back
est at the barrier. and this fact suggested the
Australian rabbit trap.
. hon "A fan.n Ia mazda rn1hit tita 81 80
generally every three or four hundred yards.
dug Just inside the fence, and is. perhaps,
eight fee, long, by iTnr Or even five
deep, and is roughly covered with boards. En-
in ne f to the PIT Is "a afforded hEr by an T Tpsnimg lief,
leads on To- q short plank. so hinged that as soon
as any weight is put upon 1t, beyond II certain
point 1t tips up. s%hooting whatever ia upon it
quantities " rabbits are trapped day and night.
1t Is the duty of each of the boundary riders to
visit each morning the pits in his own district
well as any other noXious animals.
1t is no uncommon thing to find nearly a hun
dred rabbits III one Of these pits in the morning.
but an Australian trap is no rcspectcr OF the
person Of any sort Of animal. A stranger pres
might be pardoned il he made the mistake of
surprising he had come by accident upon IA small
into the dimly lighted pit he would be puzzled
w hN'buil lpT IN moving, Struggling.
leaping mass of life that would he
the first, thing to meet his gaze; and
understand the meaning Of The con'motion.
Rabbits he will see in plenty bounding. leap
ing. skurrying into every corner and out again
mails. There is the mild faced Wallaby or small
kangaro" stupidity terrified at his close quarters
and numerous company, and trying vainly, by
an occasional clumsy Jump, to avoid the unac-
customed sensation OF having his tail trodden
upon by his companions. There is probably a
contingent OF Wildcats. Surtpitpu. indeed. with /
rabbit meat, but still glazing teTCcly at the
frightened creatures. In the corners are a collec-
ton OF small furry creatures, native rats. bandit
cootS. and Others bearing strange native names,
but one and all having the true aboriginal brand
striped rats, m0lcs, and other mOle-like animals.
from the size of "a small rat to that of IA large
furred and pouched. Possibly there may even
"A native bear, a simple, silly-looking animal
Fur fppu and ,ho clumsy sInG IS, !" li iaIFss s larSS Of n ssi, w Sna a .f facs
That looks out sheepishly with n faint surprise
from the mat OF shaggy hair that overhangs il;
More certain than any other occupant Of the
rabbit trap, except the rabbits themselves, are
the lizards. Lihardsof all sorts and sizes abound
IN Australia, from the thirty " feet long crocO-
lille { the smallest and most graceful of toy
great and small, tiniid and fierce, beau.
.iful and hideous, they abound in all places, and
apparently under all conditions: and IL would
Dc strange II n rabbit trap were opened without
II lar 3 1m"mi n nd. n st T >In
IF all the iguana will be found there. The
guiana ,pOpulaTly, and therefore beyond appeal.
e''''' 's NV ihiiA' W wv E'tllllNl -.
I not the natural, at least ths most
enemy of the rabbit in Aus
.ralia, What he queer, ungainly creature found
~ live upon before the rabbit Invasion il would
ouzzle tho most experienced Ia say, but ut any
for him il must have been a happy daY
when they arrived. That he caught stray bandit
'oots, not unlike marsupial rabbits after all, in
heir unwary moments Is probable enough: that
ledraggcd himself up trees by nm almost super
lZardean eNcrtiun nf his claws in search of Cp-
'nSsum is "A fact TOO well attested to he denied.
"A glance at his thirk body, from four
a i've tret in length, and thick and clumsy in
might excuse IA doubt: hut Al best
ais life was a hard one. Since then times have
and should the "arclimstizcr nf the
australian rabbit have earned the graft
ilde Of no one else he has ~ least
well Of the "gnannrr.' Now the
guiana has more to eat than even a lizards
leart can wish, Now ne gets his food without
dragging himself up trees or lying
nng IN wait. He has hut 10 walk into a rabbit
rap any night with the certainty nf a feast. and
speedy and respectful release in the morning.
Last, but not least, certainly not least in mum
thr trap is sure To contain a choice RssOrt-
nent Of snakes: snakes, black, brown, spotted,
striped, snakes large and small; Nenomous
nd harmless wh", ii - the wild cats and the
have come in To supper or break fast in
lac hannnafinu hall nrpuIA.I h- p,a., e. Y,ar