The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-11-14

cover was cleared away, and vigor-
Gus poisoning or trapping gradually
killed him of.
water-HoIe Traps.
Water-hole traps were found very
efficacious in dealing with the rabbit.
The pastoral holdings Of Australia are
mostly In dry country. Water-holes
are few and far between The squat
ter would carefully fence with rabbit
proof fencing all the water-holes on
his run, as his estate would be CALI
ed In Australia. But at certain places
little yards, having access to the wa
ter. would be provided. Into these
yards the rabbits could enter, bur
they could not get out. Overnight the
yard would be filied with rabbits, and
they would be destroyed In the morn
| Ing with sticks.
The rabbit in Australia Is now kent
In check. The little animal is still n
nuisance-a most expensive nuisance.
but he no longer actually threatens
the life of the pastoral industry.
Money. too. is made out of him.
Trapped-not poisoned--rabbits are
exported frozen to. Great Britain. Rab-
bit skins are utilized for leather, and
rabbit fEr for felt-making. So chang
ed is the position in regard to the rab-
bit that when. last year. a scientist
was commissioned by the New South
Wales government to test the value of
virus which. 1t was thought, would
cope successfully with the rabbit,
there was some outcry against it's
adoption. There could be no positive
assurance that the virus would actual
ly exterminate the rabbit population
and Australia decided to put up with
its rabbits rather than take any risk
that might be incurred by a new ex-
pertinent.
There Is one curious method of rab-
bit determination proposed in Austria
liza. as to the usefulness of which the
writer got hint when travelling re-
Gently in ireland. From study OF the
family life of the rabbit. Mr.. Rodier,
In Australia, proposed that the ami
mails should be kept in check by a
systematic warfare on the females
only, allowing the males to go free.
He argued that, with an excess of
males, the rabbit race would lose its
great fecundity.
Now, an Irish landlord who had a
rabbit warren on his estate. had rab-
bits trapped. partly to supply the ia
BILE. partly to keep the tribe in check.
The traps would catch more buck rab-
bits than does. as the male wanders
about more than the female. While
trapping was kept up. the rabbits In
the warren were healthy and vigorous
When trapping was for some reason
stopped for few years, the rabbits
decreased yerv much in numbers and
size.
Some one has calculated that the
rabbits In Australia must reach to the
number of 100000. ZOO. 900. But. OF
course, there ts no means of taking a
census; the calculation is largely guess
work. its foundation being a rough
numbering of the rabbits to be found
in an acre of country and multiplying
that by the number of rabbit-infested
acres.
Another theorist on the rabbit prob
lem suggests that some day the rabbit
will actually be cultivated and improv-
ed in Australia. as the sheep was. his
fur heightened, and the value of his
skin thus Improved. both as clothing
in cold climates and as the basis for
felt for hats. He pictures possible
future stud rabbit sales. But that is
a dream of the future. At present the
rabbit in Australia is a declared public
enemy, to which no man can give har-
borage without mourning the resent
ment of the law.