THE OAMARU FARMERS' CLUB AND THE BABBIT PEST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1854, 3 June 1887, Page 21

THE OAMARU FARMERS' CLUB AND THE BABBIT PEST.

The Meeting condemns Ferrets, bat declam , in favour of the liberation of .Stoats and, Weasels in rough country. . ° 1 ' ' ; ' The merits of the rabbits' natural enemies ' ' came in for a lengthy discussion at the meeting of the Oainaru Farmers' Club, held on Saturday. last/ t ,>?, >? •' ,_ ti ,;."" ;; ] s . ' J : . ' The resolutions passed at the, several centres. , ; ' in the country districts* were read." The meetings, at Otiake, Duntrppn, Georgetown^ acid Wharekuri objected to the introduction I*ll,, three animals, while that at Redcliff objected to , ferrets only. '. , ' , » / The Chairman (Mr James GemmeH) said they i! should act with caution in the matter; If they ' '■ proceeded hastily they would lose all .the' influx - ,• ence they might otherwise possess. , They had, , a heavy stake in the country, so 1 far as making ,', up the interest to pay the foreign' 'creditor* was' , concerned, and if they succeeded in 'preventing the introduction of ferrets, weasels, &a, who ■ would pay the interest on the debt if the tun-, • • holders had to give up their, run-through the .. spread of rabbits ? He had had some experience amongst stoats and weasels. 'He had known wda- : sels to kill vermin, but had never known them' to • ' touch poultry He had had ferrets himself, and ' they had actually left- his .place, for, the rabbit country. They might object to the ferrets,. but , there could be little said against stoats and weasels. ' He had read in the newspaper of the' :> ' loss in the Australian colonies through the • spread of rabbits, and it was an enormous sucnu'i He also referred to, /the area given up down ;,, south through the rabbits, and said they should '". do 'their best to assist' in the destruction of the rabbits. . , ' ' '•■ '. ' J Mr Stringer said that some consideration ■ should be shown for, the resolutions passed > at. the several meetings at the < country. The ferrets, stoats, and weasejs had no natural ', enemies, and would increase at such a rate that - they would take possession of the country. Even if the country were given up through rabbits it would only be a loss of revenue for a year or two, but increased settlement would bring that right. He said that he had been told that a. squatter, in the Lake country had actually to kill beef, to feed them ' with after they had thinned the ' rabbits. If they had to dp, this it would be worse than the rabbit pest. These animals would, interfere with the settlement of the country. j Mr Johnston said there used to be a large number of rabbits near Otiake, but settlement had killed them out there,. and' he thought settlement one of the best means of dealing with the rabbit pest. Mr Elder said where the rabbits were in great numbers they were most difficult to deal with. He said 14 years ago there were a few rabbits at his place at Ngapara, but owing to the means he took to check them, they did not. increase till they spread from the Taieri over the range, and he had' how to poison them: Were ' they, because they lived near' the coast, to"' hamper those who lived in the interior by any • resolution they might pass? The squatters were losing large sums of money through the rabbit nuisance, and it would be wrong to, interfere with them in the work. He did not . agree with ferrets being introduced, hut stoats • and weasels were not dangerous, so far as his experience i weat. The small settlements in the South, had to combat, with the rabbits in, the same way as the squatters, and if they had this to, cope with they would perhaps have a different opinion about the introduction of these animals. ' < Mr Aitchison said he had never known stoats and weasels to do harm, and the club should be very careful in approaching the Government on such an important matter. They would have small influence as a club, and they, would be endangering that influence if they hurriedly rushed to a resolution. He felt convinced that the good the stoats and weasels would do would be much greater than any damage they might ' do. ' . ' • ■ ■ ■ Mr Oliver said he had never known stoats and weasels do any harm, but a great deal of good. In farm yards at Home they used to kill the vermin and were always protected., He gave his experiences of these animals,, , which was greatly in their favour, and said that, although against the introduction of ferrets,, he was in favour, of stoats and weasels. Mr W. Denniston was also in favour of the introduction of stoats and weasels, but objected to the Government not takitig vigorous steps to keep Crown lands clear of rabbits. He did not see why runholders should have to help to keep Crown lands clear of rabbits while the Government did nothing. Mr Morton wished to know how much better they would be off with the country covered with stoats apd weasels than with rabbits. After the moving of several motions, and . their withdrawal, it was eventually carried, on. the motion of Mr P. Aitchison, that the Government be asked to prohibit the importation of ferrets. A motion by Mr Stringer; that tb- G«.vuv - ment be asked to prohibit the imports iii>i, „£ toats and weasels, was rejected in favour ot an mendment moved by Mr Elder, that stoats and weasels be introduced and be liberated only in rough country unsuitable for Small settlement.

FISH ACCLIMATISATION. The following report from Mr Deans, showing what is being done in the way of acclimatisation of salmon and trout, was read at the annual meeting of the Acclimatisation Society on Tuesday:— , , . l# I have to report that since last meeting was held another consignment of salmon ova has fceen|received , that by; the b.B. ToDgariro, which arrived ou March 30; and which turned out to be in splendid condition. .This lob consisted of about 120,000 ova, and'hatched well.''' The young fry are just now, beginning to feed. * The number of salmon fry at the two establishments. 1 Opohd and Clinton, ia about 270,000. I have trans- ' ' ferred a 1 large' number to the races; and they look ' ' strong and healthy. ,„>■..><, „r . 4 On May, 10 Banger Biirt and I drafted the two-year-old salmon at; the Clinton , ponda <ready for .' liberating when the first fresh comes. There was a -' considerablediscrepancy in their number, but through an Accident a great many escaped and found their way into Marshall* creek. \ -<' ' t■> '• „ , Banger Burt reports having obtained upwards of , 50,000 Loch Leven trout ova, and between 60 and 70 fish still to strip. He has also got a few hundred ova from the burn, trout. ' The hatching' house at Marshall's creek has been ' considerably enlarged. It is now 48ft by 12ft, and capable of hatching about 250,000 ova. : Hanger Burt has excavated some additional ponds, and run off and" cleaned outtheLoch Leven p»nd, and alsf> the pond - in which the two-year-old salmon' wf re kept, ready ' for the reception of last year's 'salmon. • It is also proposed to make some new races for the purpose of' utilising the water coming from the hatching house, .„ and which is at present running to waste. <. ■ , ••. t - .JProm the.brook trout at Opohb I. have got about ' • 16.0C0 ova, and two still to Btrlp. The 1 first of these '" were taken on the 23rd April, and are showing tWeyes quite distinctly.