Rabbit Trapping.

Otago Witness, Issue 2300, 31 March 1898, Page 14

Rabbit Trapping.

Dear Drover, — So long as writers who advocated trapping were confined to popularity soekers or those dire^y associated with factories, one could afford to pass over the correspondence unread and unconsidered. You publish a letter presumably from a squatter, or at least a man who leads you to infer he deals with large areas, in support of trapping:. Now. hear what I have to say. I know it is useless writing, but just to bear you out will do so. Years ago our pay was a pound a week, a penny a skin, and all found. Then autumn and summer poisoning (pollard and toxa) were tried. 1 lost some of the run, and wi&hina to economise, said to my rabbiters,

" I will find oats, poison, and provisions and f you can have the skins." These terms were accepted, and the men, like men, went through •with the contract on ground where 1100 to 1500 skins had been fcho regular pick-up. The tally after our first pollard in the autumn was tried was, I think, .55. I enclose names of contractor on that occasion. Writs to them for particulars if you doubt me. I have not sold or caused to be picked up a skin for years. My run to-day is probably tbo freest from rabbits in Otago. I have frequently asked Mr Ritchie to come and see what I have done. Your correspondent is quite emphatic in ' his sta.ieme.nts. so I raay be allowed some small latitude As a means of exterminating rabbits [ consider traps about as useful as kerosene as a fire extinguisher. My work now is oats in winter, pollard or tox.i in spring and autumn, and my wagps 25s and found (labour ' only) Men have leave to pick up skins for themselves, but they are not taking any The one place traps are good is in ground ' under cultivation Again (allowance made for broadness of statement), no trapper kills half-grown rabbits unless paid to do so — at least so they tell me; and they all kill cats and bo on. Naturally they would. You can publish this in extenso or not at all, as you please — I am, &c, , March 25. Runh older. The Price of Wheat. \ TO THE EDITOR. Sir. — Though many farmers are accepting 4p 6d as a fair price for their wheat, 1 would strongly advise all who can do so to hold for a further rise. Certainly there -is a probability that prices may ease a little locally, if farmers rush their wheat into the market ; but for every penny it is likely to fall, 1 consider there is an equal chance that it may rise a shilling on the Jjondon market, ft is l^ot every day that farmers have a chance of making a shilling at tho risk of a penny, as such an opportunity comes once in a lifetime. For some time 1 have been contending that tho Waikato wheat crop was largely overestimated, and the threshing machine is proving my contention to be true, as in most «ases crops ar^ threshing quite 25 per cent, 'ess than the owners expected. In^spite of sensational newspaper reports about a bumper Waikato wheat crop, it in being found that we are quite 30 per cent, below the average. It is true tbat 4s 6cl sounds a nice price for a good crop of wheat, but for a 15 to 20 bushel average crop there is very little in it, particularly as we have many an unpayable year to make up for. Some pessimistic farmers have a great deal to say abo.ut tho disastrous result of holding their wheat a few years ago, but I submit tbat the .cases are not parallel, as the world's present visible wheat supply is many millions of quarters less than at the time referred to, while tlie population has largely increased. Until a year or so ago the American wheafcfarmer was always a large holder, who had to be considered, but a falling market year after year has put an end to all that; and I have it on the best of authority that at the present moment he cannot be said to bold a bushel. It may not be generally known that in the world's wheat market "bear" sellers have sold for delivery, before about the middle of May, many millions of miarters irore wheat than there are in existence. This h«ts been going on for years, but now is the first, time that "bull" speculators have lelt themselves strong enough to demand delivery. Anyone with experience of a " corner" will tiriderstand what that means; so I say once more, cl Farmers, hold your wheat!" — I am, &c, J. D. P. Morgan. ; Hautapu, Waikato, March 14, 1898. i Strawberry Culture. '< TO THS EDITOH. i Sic, — Your ■ talented correspondent "Agri- > cola " ha? been writing on strawberry culture. ' I dow'D thiok he is so much up to this line of business as he is on otner things in connection with the farm, and ou which he can' 6be best. • -In the position he 18 nighr, tha distance he ia jwrong, according to Mr Moss, of Lawrence, wfco, ' like, me, has had 50 years' experience among . them. Three feet between the rows, 25in iv the rows, put them triangular . ■ . and jou will have a passable crop the fi st year. The ' British Qutea is the best for flavour, and pood ytllow eLy suits them. lb does not matter about the depth. I had an enormous crop this year, only 6in deep. Water them when in , flower with soot Tquic s , thus keeping down tba l ; black bug, wbich is death to the flower. The . Myais Surprise is the besfc for j*m, and a long continuous bearer. From January lafc up till the 14th of March I have baen picking. — I t am, etc., SM. , Waipori, March 21. : !