"THAT BLESSED PEST."

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15825, 25 July 1913, Page 6

"THAT BLESSED PEST."

By the Rev. A. V. G. Chandleb,

"That Messed pest!" These were the words of a wealthy Australian squatto who had just returned from a deer-stalk-ing expedition in the Hunter Valley. We were discussing the' great number of rabbits on the Hawea and Wanaka- hills,' and he recounted the continuous war waged against the little rodent oil his hugo station in the land of the kangaroo. From his point, of .view they were undoubtedly an intolerable pest, and his mild adjective should be attributed rather to

the restraining influence of my clerical collar than to any benediction conferred upon bunny. But, while admitting the truth of his noun, I argued strongly <or the appropriateness of his adjective, showins tliat the multiplication of the deepised rodent had not been without considerable benefit in the land of its adoption, and backing up my argument with our great bard's illustration o£ the jewelled-eyed toad, " Sweet are the uses of adversity," and Father Faber's gracefully expressed lines, " 111 that He blesses is our good," etc.

My arguments concerning the transmutation of evil into good produced little effect upon my Australian friend, but I am confident that many will agree with me that the advent of the rabbit has not been without its beneficent side, Big cheques are made by rabbiters to-day who erstwhile were slogging at farm work for mediocre pay. A member of my congregation is guaranteed £300 a year for rabbiting, and lie rejoices in £6 a week instead of a modest 25s as shepherd, which would hare been his portion had bunny not arrived. But what about the runholder who lias to pay? He received 14Jd per lb for his wool this season, and is not in danger of starving. Though the rabbits have robbed the sheep of their feed, they have transferred a lot of money from the squatter to the working man, and quadrupled employment on many backMccks stations. One young farmer told me that when successful at the ballot he paid the irrst year' 6 rent on his sheep run by his catch of rabbit skins. Sly good friend from Australia considerately 6pent several hundreds of pounds during his deerstalking trip in New Zealand, but ordinary individuals who are not blessed with ten thousands of aores and rabbits in proportion are perforce content to indulge their sporting proclivities in more economical fashion.

The quaint verbiage of an ancient Act of Parliament prohibits trespassing in search of rabbits, rats, and "other.small deer. 1 ' Sportsmen whose slender purses will not permit of stalking the red or fallow deer in their mountain haunts are compelled to find health and eniovment in tho pursuit of " the other small deer." A few shillings will give one a good day's shooting with tho despised pea rifle, im-

proving one's health by the fresh air and sunshine and exercise, and incidentally replenishing one's larder with a few tender " joints." No doubt the professional rabbiter, cleaning and skinning bo many day after day, cares little for tHeai as food, but they make a palatable dish for all that. Indeed, my doctor informs me tfyati he often orders young rabbit as an invalid' 6 dish. One sportsman, who was a member, of Warner's English aricket team which toured New Zealand, spent his honeymoon deer-stalking in Hawea and Waiiaka. One evening, after being regaled with an appetising dish of alleged minced chicken, he highly complimented his hostess on the excellenoe of her poultry, only to be'informed that the ingredients of the dish were " two of rabbits and one of chicken. 1 ' To-day in his London clnb he still praises and eats "minced chicken" from New Zealand. The importation of the rabbit into New Zealand may or may not have been a mistake; he has evidently come to stay. Despite, the murderous ingenuity of man, as shown in guns and traps,, ferrets and nets, stoats, weasels, and poison, the little Todent perkts in existing, and I fear we shall yet regret the greater pest of stoats and weasels when our native game has disappeared and our poultry is continually decimated. Stoats and weasels are neither good for sport nor food, and bunny is both. It is said that the man who imported the first pair of rabbit 6 via the Bluff rejoiced in ,tha prospective good he was conferring on his adopted country. When one thinks of the terrific fertility of that fateful pair, one has a sympathetic feeling with the ruined squatter who, it is alleged, wandered round New Zealand looking for the importer—with his rabbit gun. Punch tells a story of a wee lassie crying over her difficult arithmetic, and when asked the reason of her sighs and tears, replied, "Oh, papa, I do wish 1 was a rabbit." '' Why, my dear?'" " Because teacher says they multiply so quickly!" The little girl had bat partially grasped their multiplication; "Quickly" does not describe it, for arithmeticians inform us, incredible though it may seem, that one pair of rabbits, breeding at the rate of a litter of six per month (and I have seen eight and nine in a litter) would became the fruitful progenitors of two and a-haJf million rabbits in a year. ' But despite this fact it is certain that in many parts of New Zealand, and more especially in the high country, the rabbits are con-, siderably decreasing. Par away in the back-block hills huge warrens exist and not a rabbit can be seen throughout the year, and even in the lower country nnmorous " dead" burrows axe everywhere apparent. Closer settlement soon keeps the rabbit in check, and in some parts, where skins and carcases come in Dy the hundreds of thousands, trapping hardly pays. I am assured that at Dunback, where a canning factory formerly existed, the rabbits have been worked

out. The time may yet come, as in other countries, when rabbits will be looked

upon as excellent for food and sport, and New Zealand will count them a valuable 36set. !

I have found keen enjoyment in -watching the playful antics of these furry rotrues. Crawl slowly through th-e long tussock to the edge of yon deep, gully and peer cautiously down to the cloise-cropDed green amongst the flaxes growing by the rippling creek. Gently though yomcome, there is a wary 1 veteran sitting up on his hind legs, with ears erect, as though detecting a faint whiff of danger. Some quietly feed with ears laid loosely along their hacks, while several are lying cosily beneath a sheltering tussock, or stretched out fall length enjoying an abdominal sun bath. Yonder the youngsters are playing a spirited game of black, four grevs, and one with a distinguishing white collar—frisking,jumping, turning, running, like the poet's happy bovs who came bounding out of school.'' But one thud of the vigilant' veteran's bind leg upon the resounding turf as 1 e sees you move, and they all disappear as swiftly and silently as did Clan Alpine's warriors at the signal of Roderick Dhu. On one occasion at Glendhu I watchad for a considerable time a rabbit and a weasel running round and round in play. mutual agreement-thev had brief spells for rest, and then started again on their merry-go-ronnd, chasing and being chased. Poor bunny little knew as he ran round with( his carnivorous friend that, like the young lady of Rica of tiger-riding fame, some portion of him might after breakfast next morning be running Tound inside his accommodating friend. What clever engineers they are, securing for their homes all possible natural advantages. The wise king commends their wisdom by saying "The conies are a feeble folk, yet they'make their houses in the Tock." Anyone conversant with the ramifications of a rabbit's warren must often wonder at the skill and energy ex- [ pended upon its construction. So tireless is their energy that, they often " scrape for scraping's 6ake," as evidenced by the numberless scrape-outs. How wisely they choose the entrance to their homes beneath a tree or tufsock, a huge rock or solitary boulder; and if on the bare hillside or open paddock tfiey never forget to keep a back door opuo for emergencies. Good entrances provide shelter and security; ready exits mean life and liberty. With what skill do they arrange their warm, dry dormitories, and how cosily the mother covers up her frail offspring with fur from her wvn breast, and how carefully she scrapes the earth over her nursery to prevent intrusion during her absence for fooc. Yes, Solom-;n is right as usual, for, though feeble, the conies are exceedingly Wise, and put to shame the man who built his house upon the sand.

The Tabbit's aversion to water is proverbial, but on occasions he takes to it readily. I was present when the river Makarora, rose suddenly, as mountain rivers usually do after rain, and saw several rabbits as the water began to invade their island domain jump into the running stream and swim to the main : land. Shaking the water from their dripping fur they calmly hopped off to a higher and safer abode. like other animals bunny i 6 not. eager to Tiek his life in running water. During the recent floods several rabbits endured an adventurous voyage down the Clutha River clinging to a huge tffce. We can onlyhope they reached green pastures and still waters at Port Molyneux, for they safely passed sympathising watchers at Greenfields. A trustworthy rabbiter at Terras told roe that several times' during hot summer evenings he saw rabbits enter a pool and swim about for pure enjoyment. Certainly Brer Rabbit's swimming is no mere acquirement, but a natural gift. Throw a lad'into deep water and he will drown; pitch a rabbit in and he will swim to the nearest bank.

Many other things could be written to show that the pest is not an unmixed evil, but the " blessedness" of the pest, is sufficiently shown in its 'use for sport and food, in 'providing increased employment and natural history study, and by the usefulness of what might be termed the byproducts of the rabbit. Furriers esteem the " winters " most highly, and it is an open secret that sometimes the valuable moleskin furs are " converted'' rabbit skins. Even the famous Borsolino hats owe their wide reputation to the excellence of the rabbit's fur, and while the whole pelts axe manufactured into best "kid" gloves it is no uncommon thing for the shredded skins—from which the fur has been stripped—to be "converted" into glue and jelly crystals and—tell it not in Gath! —into gelatines, jujubes, and other toothsome dainties dear to the youthful palate. Surely my squatter friend spoke wiser than he knew when he called bunny "A blessed pest."