RABBIT EXTERMINATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13893, 3 May 1907, Page 5

RABBIT EXTERMINATION

IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS. Press Association—By' Telegraph-Copyright. SYDNEY, May 2. (Received May 3, at 0.45 a.m.) Dr Daiiysz has submitted a report to the Pastures Board on his experiments with rabbit virus. The experiments of contagion show that 82 infected rabbits died. He gave the disease to 194 out of 307 healthy rabbits. The spots where infected rabbits have lived and died remain infectious for a certain time. An important feature is that he was unable to obtain on Broughlnn Island the infection of " lump nose," which is the most contagious form. This form was obtained in the laboratory of tho Hoard of Health at Sydney, so it is concluded that the special climatic conditions of the island prevent the appearance of this form. As to the direct infection of rabbits, experiments prove that this is easily accomplished by putting a certain quantity of virus in tho water which they drink, in the proportion of one pint of broth to two or three gallons of water, renewing it every day. Several tons of virus could bo made per week, or even per day, in a properly-appointed laboratory. About 10 pints of virus would suffice for a thousand acres. The question of immunity of other animals was left to Dr Tidswell, appointed by the Commonwealth, but Dr Danysz has satisfied himself on the point, and his experiments fully justified the opinion he held that the virus was dangerous only to rabbits.