WAIKAKA.

Otago Witness, Issue 1731, 24 January 1885, Page 12

WAIKAKA.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

January 20. Thb WbAthbb.— During the past three weeks this district has been favoured with very flue weather; Smam< Birds.— Linnets and sparrowß are becoming very plentiful in this district, and It is not unlikely that our farmers will need to have recourse to poison tor their destruction in a year or two. Native birds are also appearing hore. Among them are paroquets One farmer on tun east side o* the Obatfon district informed mo lately th*t he shot scores of them, as they were destroying his f rait Did they not aopear in other districts also, I should attribu'o their presence hero to the trees and hedges, which have now attained considerable dimeneious around several f arm Kabbits and Rats —The farmer of thoso aaimab i 3 still numerous in this district!, but as the gra^s is plentiful this year, they do not seem to cause much annoyance. f>uting the early part of summer they were so numerous on oi>e farm in a neisjhrounng d'Btrict that they kept s pad<)ock of 17 acres ot ryegrasa a< bare aq a road A fumigating machine was pro cured and sen at work for a fortnight in the paddock and roundabout, with the *csult that there did not appoar to be a rabbi& left. Th« ryegrafS in the paddock under notice is no-v heavy and Ha owner speaks very highly of fumlgat' ng mrcMnea. He says iney aiea<»vgood for long underground holes as for short ones Bats are numerous here also but thoy are very easily caught in rabbit-trans. Th. y do not appear to ho apprbhenßive of any danger when walking over ttaps OChree uncovered traps are usix»l<y set at cne hole, so that the rat cannot leave it without walking o:» thorn. Not Ion? nincfl a farmer in South Glenkenich was troubled by the presence of rota in Jarge numoers Ha set traps in a ditch in which there was a little water, and wa3 rewarded by trapping about 60 rats in a few evenings. Circus and - Chianai's Oircua and. Me i&getio, which put up '"or two days at Gote »a.t week, attracted large crowds of people both days. Many people from this dixies weru down to see tuem, and were very well pleased with what they s»<v. The perfo<ma. ces of the trained horses seemed to demand moi-t attention. Waking through the menagerie, one could not help observing the fun the monkeys gave to the small ooya.