Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1901-08-14
PLAGUE OF. BELGIAN .HARES.
Rapid Increase Of. the Animals BE.
comes n Menace to California
:. o. 49,, AEriculturists. g.

A little more than one year ago the
English wild rabbit, under the name of
the Belgian hare, was introduced into
this city. It had previously been
known in southern California for
about, five years. The daily papers well
coined the stranger and assisted the
importers in working up an excite
ment. Animals for eating were read
lily sold for five dollars apiece, and the
price of fancy specimens for breeding
purposes ran up to several hundred
dollars. At that time the San Fran
cisco Argonaut pointed out the danger
of the introduction of this animal.
They multiply with great rapidity and
are large eaters. BY the established
figures of increase it was shown that
one pair of rabbits would be repre-
scented at the end of the first year by
70, and that at the end of five years
The descendants of this original pair
would number 3,S09,322.
So long as the rabbits were kept in
captivity these figures would not seri-
ously. affect anybody but. the owner
who was called upon to feed them. But
should they escape or be turned loose
the result would seriously affect the
entire community. How serious this
would be may be gathered from the
experience of Australia into which
country they had been imported to
furnish game for men of leisure who
took an interest in sport. They in
creased so rapidly that they began to
interfere with stock raising and agri-
cultural operations. They consumed
the heritage up to the very doors of the
farmhouses, destroyed orchards and
gardens, and caused the abandonmen nj
of land that had formerly produced sc
bushels of wheat and 60 bushels of bar.
ley to the acre.
A war Of determination against the
pest was inaugurated. Wire fences
were built-one of them between 4OC
and 500 miles long and costing So, $780,.
000-to restrain them I'M bounds, bu,
they burrowed underneath. During
three successive years $730,00O, 81, $780,.
600 and $2,50O,O0O were paid in bonus
to persons who killed them off. This
represented more than $4,000, O0C
scalps, but still the plague continued
They were shot, trapped, hunted with
ferrets, poisoned and infected with
chicken cholera. Even these measures
failed, and nature had to come to the
rescue of the farmers. The year 1885
was one OF drought. Lakes and waite,
courses were fenced in, and the rabbits
shut of from the water, died of thirst
by thousands. Still manyremain and
the plague of rabbits may again visit
Australia whenever vigilance is re.
| Taxed.
The English rabbit which caused al
this destruction differs from his de-
scendant, the Belgian hare, only in the
fact that the latter is larger ano
stronger as result of generations o.
breeding and development. The Areo
naut one year ago warned the people
OF the danger of allowing them to rur
at large through the state. Very short
1y afterward number escaped in Sac
ramento county. Now the state boarc
of horticulture estimates that severa
thousand OF them are at large within
the boundaries of the state. The sec
rotary of agriculture calls attention t.
the danger in his report to the fedora
government. Though the board of hor
tlculture is alive to the fact that tn.
pest is gaining foothold in the state
it does not appear to be alive to the fac
that now is the time tn stamn; Il ont