TRAPPING OF RABBITS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 189, 15 July 1925, Page 3

TRAPPING OF RABBITS.

\ DISCUSSED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Tile protest of a local firm against tho recent action of district rabbit boards in prohibiting the use of traps was conveyed to the monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday by the secretary, Mr W. McKenzie, who stated that he had been informed that hospitals, other institutions and private individuals were now finding it hard to procure rabbits for consumption. Mr J. Carter mentioned that quite a number of men formerly engaged in trapping had been thrown out of employment. People who desired rabbits for consumption now found it necessary to get them from the South Island.

Mr J. P. Stubbs enquired why the rabbit boards had prohibited trapping. Mr Carter explained that, at this time of the year, when food was scarce, trapping and shooting had the effect of making the rabbits fight shy of poison. Possibly, when spring arrived, tho boards might again permit trapping. He did not know. The chairman expressed the view that, if rabbit boards considered the prohibition of trapping essential, they would not pay much importance to any recommendations made by the chamber to the contrary.

Mr J. K. Stevens said that poisoning was the most effective method of getting rid of rabbits, and that trapping disturbed the animals. Eventually, on the motion of Mr Carter, it was decided to write to the rabbit boards in the district enquiring whether the prohibition on trapping would continue throughout the season.

VARIATIONS IN WOOL. INTERESTING TEST. EFFECTS OF BLENDING. The Bradford Technical College staff and a committee of experts has completed an elaborate test of the 64’s quality grown in Central Queensland and in South Australia. Tho wool employed iu the research was quantities of the well-known marks, “Malvern Hills” (Central Queensland) and “Hope Para” (South Australian). it was washed, combed and spun at the technical college, and woven into dress serges, and dyed and finished by one of the local firms. Although theoretically wool of identical quality should produce fabrics in all ways similar, actually the cloths are materially different.

11l the opinion of members of the committee who supervised the research, it has proved conclusively that a superior fabric is obtainable from the 04’s quality grown in Central Queensland. As the wool employed is Merino of nearly the highest grade, it would, of course, be absurd to maintain that the cloth from the South Australian staple is not a good fabric.' Such is not the inference to lie drawn from the result of the investigation which admittedly does not disparage South Australian wool. The more accurate way of indicating the result would be to say that of the two excellent Botany cloths manufactured, the better of them is the one made from the Central Queensland wool which has a finer handle, and more uniform appearance. In order to reach a conclusion that would leave nothing to chance, tho promoters of the research submitted the cloths to a number of people representative of those who, in the normal course of business, would pronounce judgment upon the wool products of the industry. The fabric were inspected bv a number of wholesale and retail buyers of cloth, commercial travellers in the cloth trade, and also a number of ladies, having, of course, no technical knowledge, all of whom selected upon the grounds of commercial judgment and personal taste the cloths made from the Queensland wool being the better of the two. A GOOD HERD. AVERAGE 327L8. BUTTER FAT. TE AWAMUTU, July 13. According to the testing sherat supplied by the New Zealand Herd Testing Association, Mr S." Ferguson, of Te Mawhai, has a herd of dairy cows much above the average. The herd comprises 43 cows and heifers, their average working out at 3271 b. of butterfa't per cow for 283 days. The average of the 3G cows in the herd was 3541 b. butterfat, and that of the 17 heifers 2691 b.