INOCULATING RABBITS.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 6515, 5 December 1887, Page 4

INOCULATING RABBITS.

Adelaide, November 14.

Much interest is taken In Professor Watson'a proposals to destroy rabbite by inoculating them with scab. Objec ims aretnade Io it on the ground that the scib will spread to sheep dogs and even man, and thus become a great«r pest \h\r\ Hie tno it v desired to extirpate. A reassuring report od tl c question, however, has been pr;esen<e<i <o Parliament, by Professor Watson. He says — " Assisted by icflaen tia! stock owners/I am investigating the effect of rabbit icab on Bbcep. , The wool of three niuhorn merinos wag on October 14 last, and»gain on the 4 l h ins% heavily charged in several places with (he parasite taken directly from liv'mg r_bbi*B aod it is impossible to imagine that the sheep in if running at large, even surroundgd with adUions of inleoted rabbits, could ever be eutjjected to auch a severe flrenohine with rabbit parasite as was the ea#e here. Judging by the analogy supplied by the abortive sotibn of the sheep i&cab itself whoa brought 'in contact with the skin of o'hor animals, including maa, I c'ectainly did anticipate some slight transient local Irritation caused by tbe futile attempts of the rabbit par.^te to ncca wood ate itself to live ia tho skin of a sheep. Tbas (ar, however, no local irritation much less destructive general spread of the parasite in the nool oUJie sheep has ensued. As for dogs, horses, cattle, and tn.au, {he evidence is that no danger need be anticipated. The flesh of the disease i rabbit may be eaten with impunity, although very lean and dry if the disease of the ekiD is advanced. We hope by Christmas to be in a position to carry out experiments on horeee ; cattle, pigs, and marsupials," - '