TOCK QUARANTINE STATION, RANDWICK.

Otago Witness, Issue 1910, 29 June 1888, Page 13

TOCK QUARANTINE STATION, RANDWICK.

, ■ . Januabt 23bd, 1888. ". The rabbit-catching apparatus erected by Mr Wynne at, the Stock Quarantine Station, Randr wick, under the authority of Mr Bruce, chief inspector of stock for New South. Wales,' was subjected to four separate trials, extending over ga period of 10 days-r-viz., from Saturday, 14th jinst , to Monday; 23rd. The trials were made with eight rabbits, of which three were old ones, (and . the other five ranging in age from eight weeks upwards." ......... I " Trial No. 4 was made with a 3f -inch trap, jfixed 12 inches above the ground' on the inside, land armed with 11 spikes, bent, from the horizontal position slightly, inwards at the points. All the rabbits, as in the former trials, passed through' into the- trap, but none of them sue-" iceeded in getting out again. Their food was [placed outside,, and they made repeated and per? j sistent attempts to get to it, but without success, although the trial lasted from the 19th t6 the 23rd inst., covering a period of five days." - -

,■)-, ' t . \GLENLTON STATION. >Not knowing that the traps had been patented, Mr ; James Cotter,, put up a trapped yard atGlenlyon station in March, The result of which can be gathered from- his letter of the 7th April, which reads* as 'follows -.--"Yours of the 29th Maroh.to hand; lam sorry to hear that I,have been infringing on your patent rights in using the trap yards to catch rabbits. The largest catch which I have had in one trap in one nightwas 1000, the next heat 997, and 995, and Itiave often oaUght'from 400 to 500. , ( I have shown the yards at work to Mr Rabbit Inspector,Vinden, and he thinks^'they do splendid work, and will report favourably of them to the Govern"ment." Inspector Yinden's report to the Mining Department, a copy of which they were courteous enough to officially present to the inventor, 'reads as follows : "On the morning of the 7th April I visited a trapped tank at Glenlyon station, in 'company with Mr Cotter, and the catch obtained for -the night was 995 rabbits. . . . '.* . >.?. '. The manager appears to take great interest in the work, and I understand from him .that they have had some very large catches— as 1 many as 1000 or 1500 rabbits in one night." ' „ .. ■ j ', s.TEBYAJWYNIA STATION. Under the head of "Rabbit Destruction Extraordinary" the Sydney, Daily Telegraph says: " Teryawynia in the Western District is probably one of the. worst infested stations in the colony; and -for' the first half of last: year over £8000 was paid for , rabbit subsidy on this run alone. The proprietors, Messrs Wynne and Gilbert, saw that, the old system of dealing with the plague was utterly useless, and refused to put on rabbiters as required by the act. So strong was their conviction that they allowed themselves to be fined rather than involve the country in any' further useless and reckless expenditure, and they were accordingly fined £5 in the local court for disobeying the requirements of the act. , But in stopping the old system they adopted the plan of erecting wire net yards for wholesale trapping, and the result has been really startling. The tanks are fenced

in with wire netting in which holes are left just large enough to admit a rabbit, but these holes are armed with spikes pointing inwards, so tb,at

, the j-abbit havln| "^S^iM^^^Sa^M, 4 "to returni ?^t^il^ptqms.afp^^OTa^oti'f these enclosqrejßie'oaufjhtil,o99 ra6b[te(tM»|flix J e nightsVand,;alto^gether;^ve.rJl(]^!w^ i caught since the/ traps .- were f'erecieA^The 1 " ' pfpprietort 'itheT^aite conWnji^\that'!,tfie^,tßnt/y ' can be quicWy add description of. trappißg.oombin*^ [ *f|i|h*D^iflonhig * in those localities where the abundance , of water ' prerebts thG.tanks f rom bsipg^tiraptif eV i : TKey have no doubt thai if let alone for a few months they, will be able 7to show the by Actual defflphstratfoh that thera is'ribinec'essity for any othWsystem." The! trap .^se^in this instkice varied "in- height", being ''ffighe-f,^^ and I narrower than those Jtt general aseVthe.whqle . of the;princlple:of the patent being tottibrwise adhered to. . „ - }■' '„ .; o" ! J^r"^hn Pottie, v;eterln^ l gMgeoid^W the i New' Sotftb: Wales ! Government ctfrites. as, follows:—"! Up no* know, Jfco,^honri; »*awriting nut* the pM of rabbit; ttapis-unques-; >ionably the best 1 evet hqartfofc -^t »J*w > far as I know, the best solution of Uia .^rAbbit difficulty. ' Thanks for circular.'!".^'; J ; ( ?^r' " ' APXTBI.iCtJNDBfiTf'AKINO'.S V ',T ' A syndicate of the largest'firmsm'New^South. Wales, inoJuding.Messrs' Hudson Bros':; limited* of Sydney and. Clyde 4 , are,^egotiating'with the j inventor to form a company '"for \tne .'pttrpose of entering into contracts 'with'.thißlsqttattew to clear their runs of . rabbits by '.weaQß of . his patent, and to utilise their mx& |nd preserve tha i carcasses for fxport. / J I , „ , PLANS AND PBICES. ]'■ _ ' -

Material for the following yards, to include rabbit-proof fencing, traps, patent; steel slotted standards, straining posts, lacing t wire, l bait, and barbed wire to protect the yards' from cattle, will be sftpplied complete, delivered at ship or rail, Dunedin, by the local agents at 1^ following prices: — '\ ' • ' \ ■ '[■ Yards, 66ft,by 20ft J v L/£5, Yards, 132 ft by 33ft ... ,', .^ ~£lo Larger sizes in same proportion;' It will be seen that,' discarding ariy-valueof . the' carcass, 800 winterskins at 3d will pay for the larger size of ' yard and 400 the smaller, and' this is not an impossible catch for tine night where rabbits exist in large numbers. As'thereisnbthihgdestructable in the above, and they can be easily: drawn and transferred 'from one part of a' holding to another, there id* practically no sacrifice of value when the 'rabbits- have been caught' and destroyed, the material still representing. . its original value/ 'It is necWs'ary to visit the yards once^aily to kill the catches and prevent th,em burrowing out.* No further attention^ is necesnary; arid no skilled labour is' required in ita use. There is' no risk of Jnfection'or'poisoWng; no loss or damage to skins; w> s^criftae of value of material used'; no injury to the' natural enemies of the pest. l ' • ... " \ '„-■- .<< </- 1 -Yards cani be* erected along 'existing dividing fences at t very small cost; and rabbits enough caught to' pay their cost, instead of being/turned back again upon the holding. As tho material is light and portable any man can'mak'e'adecent living by trapping on Governments land ,- and selling the skins. There is no country top difficult to clear in this way, nnd if yards were erected on the plains or in the gullies in' winter when the snow or scarcity of food force the rabbit down from the hills," immenseVriumbers wonld be destroyed at a profit to the* trapper, to say nothing of the increased sheep-carrying capacity of the land. One or two of these yards to tt square mile of 'country, shifted^offen and kept cleared, would soon clear theVorst infected district ; and' when left standing, any incursion of rabbits from neighbouring districts would be oaught as they came along, and the ground not only cleared but kept dea*-. » ;, " ~ Rabbits are known' to be shy ■of traps, especially those with moveable parts, -but as there is nothing of the nature of a trap about this patent, -they will pass through- im great numberiy just :'»s they would ; piies from one paddock to another. This is a far safer a_nd more' effeotnal'foethod of destroying the pest than by the 'introduction and acclimatisation of foreign and deadly diseases, which would bocomo a permanent Incubus to th»*-colony. , > ,-, ,-. ". S j. CAUTION. ' .t. t .-\ '• ■ As the simplicity of -Wynne's Patent Rabbit Catcher may lead to copying or infringement, Messrs Begg and Wilkin?on.,will : piiyvto any* trooper, station hand, ron=eabout f or any. person . whatever, a reward of £25 for 'inf ontf atiqo leads to the conviction -of any owner or mannfaoturerVbn'forfA) of any infringement, of ibis patent. Each trap is galvanised, sfnd impressed on the collar " Wynne's .Patent/*,, with a distinctive number. The name of the '-poraoi) giving such information will not be disclosed; to .the parties interested.' 1 "- - *."- ; -iV J -'W,.,'' 1 WORKING;- MODEL, t V'.n^r^ A model yard with live rabbits can be seen at the foundry of the local agenfce, Messrs Begg and, WilkinsoD, Caslle street, DuhcdihV on any. "day before the 12th of July. <•; Several station owners . and land companies have inspected. this model,' and agreed to take up fheßystemV" Any managers, .. , station hand?, rabbiterip/or- others interested in the subject can call and 'inspect on' day ' between 10a.m. and .4-p.in;y "■-,-*;,r l \3» V* ; "

In Banco Court in Wellington! dn the niptiop of Mr Chapman (representing^eliavr^c^ei^X O.^ J. Skipper, a well-known Wairarap^ solicitor, was fined £20 for disobeying an order .qf'ihe^xgarfc; .; calling, ripon him to pay thelfjges dn^e/to^e/, "eocietyi amdaatujg to£s0 t ;" */* ; *Xc^ f$" J *V f'