OTAGO CENTRAL

Hokitika Guardian, 4 October 1929, Page 7

OTAGO CENTRAL

A GREAT RECOVERY. THE DIS AP'PEARING RABBIT. A retired southern pastoralist, now a resident of the North Island, recently spent several weeks in Otago Cential, a part to which ho had made many visits in the past. He made some interesting observations to a,n interviewer on the condition of the Otago interior in respect of the reduction of the rabbit pest, the recovery of the grass lands, and the progress of irrigation. 'Some years ago, with others, the visitor was instrumental in focusing public attention on the serious condition of the rabbit pest in Otago Central, and the lack of Departmental' effort in connexion with its destruction. As the result of the criticism of certain methods better work was enforced and in time the rabbit was on the run;. The visitor mentioned the fact that the export of skins had fallen by about 40 per cent in five yeai-s. The greater part of the iincreased carrying capacity in the paptorafl country could be attributed to the destruction of rabbits, and this again was due to the earnest and business-like methods more recently employed with the pest. In 1924 the Central was carrying about 193.000 sheep. In 1929 the number had increased to 296,739 or an increase of 104,000, or roughly s‘ l per cent increase in five years. A well known Dunedin woolbroker had '.stated ’that in 1924 Citato Central nrnper produced, in round figures, 7COO bales of wool, while in the 1928-29 season this number had increased to nearly 24,000 bales. As an instance of wlmt the destruction of rabbits means to the individual the visitor mentioned that he was a visitor to one run where the carrying capacity in 1923 was 2200 sheep. On the same run this season —grazed the same way except that about six miles of subdivision fence? had been erected—the number of sheep carried was about 8000. . IRRIG ATION. The visitor’s opinion about irrigation in Central Otago was that it was an expensive luxury and that great waste had taken place in connexion with the various schemes and th rjt no proner provision had been made to guide inexperienced irrigators in the application of water to their crops. He considered thaf •quite 50 per cent of the cost would have 'to he written off and the estimated total expenditure was said to have been about T 900,000. The Ida Valley drainage sclieme, the first , irrigated area, would have to be carried through. It would cost a huge sum ancl the settlers were not in a position th pay for it. Certain parts of Central Otago were very suitable for irrigation, but huge costs of construction would be fatal to its success. Reverting again to the subject of the destruction of rabbits and the improvement in the feed as a result of the (A'Vi n-up the country had received of late years, the visitor remarked that lie had spent six weeks in Otago Central in 1923. when he found the country practically bare, and rabbits everywhere, even on the streets in some of the 'townships. At that time there were few signs of grass while now grasses were to he seen coming away in all directions. The Central was certainly coming back. , The visitor’s advice to present-day runholders was to stick to their runs and wage constant war against the rabbit pest until it was wiped out. and periodically to spell parts of their runs so ns to assist Nature to reelothe the parts that the rabbits had denuded of vegetation.