The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-07-10
A RABBIT PEST.
California Threatened With a
Plague Like Australia
Various Unsuccessful Attempts
to Exterminate the Animals

CALIFORNIA; rabbit nuisance Is as-
suming proportions aud making prog
ross which, according 20 the New
York Sun. most unpleasantly suggest
comparison with tho actual plague Of
rabbits that nflicts Australia; afllicts
it in a hopeless degree, according to
the latest reports Of the various colon
ial governments California has late
~ adopted some Australian methods
OF thinning out tho rabbits, aud APP
parently with about the same limited
measure Of success In Australia the
attempt 70 exterminato them has been
given up, and every effort is now
directed to combining the rabbits to
certain areas, or rather 10 keeping
them out of certain cultivated regions
Even this entails enormous expense
on the governments and landowners,
is by no means sure, and often is un-
successful
It is stated that In one county alone
in California the loss to farmers from
rabbits and hares amounted last year
to fully 5000, 900. Many experiments
with poison have been made, but the
farmers have about concluded that the
only thing to do is occasionally to thin
out the rabbits by holding big round
up hunts or drives 1t is estimated
that as a result of 40 drives in all
held in California $50, 400 rabbits have
been killed. But the latest reports
say there is no appreciable diminution
in their numbers.
Some years ago the government Of
New South Wales offered n reward of
S125, 900 to any one who suggested a
really efficient method Of getting rid
of the rabbits This offer stood open
for several years. and more than 1000
schemes were offered, coming from all
parts of the world. Many we're tried,
but none was found to be wholly salts.
factory, and finally the offer was with
drawn, and the Australians tried to
make up their minds to the inevitable
permanence of the pest Ferrets,
stoats, and weasels we're imported and
bred in thousands, and they have done
good work. Poisons of all sorts were
tried with but little success. Cats
we're introduced, and they also did
good service. But the rabbits null
uply at such m astounding rate that
they have much more than held their
own, and have spread into new regions,
destroying large proportion of all
crops wherever they have penetrated.
The government estimates that nc
less than 3775O,OOO acres of land,
farming and grazing, in the colony Of
Victoria, is infested by rabbits.
Many schemes have been offered fol-
making use of the rabbits CONNER
cially, and thus recouping at least {
little of the loss they cause. Many
thousands are killed and their skin
used, and something of trade ha
been built up in the shipment of rab
bits to England and elsewhere fo
food, either canned or frozen. Blu
the world can't live on rabbit meat
and it would need to in order to alfor,
to the Autralians a profitable way o
, making use of their rabbits. TIL
skins are largely used for many pur
/ poses. One concern in Victoria use
: $4,000 rabbit skins every year, an
t in the last seventeen years about 68,
900, 900 skins have been exporte
! from Victoria.
: There have been intercolonial con
Q ferences, attended by representative
Q of the various governments and dele
1 gates from the agricultural societies
y at which every phase of the questio
has been considered. The final dc
csion seems to be that exterminatio
is impossible, and that the most effeC
l. tual way of dealing with the evil is i
n building long fences Of rabbit-proo
$ netting to keep the animals out {
h areas not yet infested, to cut them 0
j. from food supplies and also to g
. them together rs much as possible {
g that they can be raided by means {
4. drives.
Some of the fences are hundreds
miles long. One starts at Barringui