The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, MARCH 27, l880. THE SCAB AND RABBIT NUISANCE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1485, 27 March 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, MARCH 27, 1880. THE SCAB AND RABBIT NUISANCE.

A great scare was caused a few weeks ago in the Amuri district on account of the Bank of New Zealand abandoning the Clarence run. How the Rank got into possession of the run has not transpired, but we presume it was just in the usual way. Home unhappy squatter got too deeply involved in the Bank’s books, and bad to give up the run, and it acquired it just in (he same way that it is acquiring possession of- a largo proportion of tha country. It appears, however, that the acquisition of the Clarence run turned out “ a poor spec,” Low prices set in, rabbits multiplied, scab increased, and everything turned against the Bank, till at last it gave up the run to the thousands of scabby sheep and millions of rabbits. The settlers in the district became alarmed, Visions of scabby sheep floating loose over the district, and spreading contagion far and wide, rose before them, while the swarms of rabbits which were to be observed everywhere, attested to the fact that they were rapidly increasing. AMr Corbett telegraphed to the Bank inspector, ■but he said he knew nothing about it; he next telegraphed to the Government, with the result that a Sc«b Inspector was put in charge of the run, with instructions to eiadicatu the scab. The settlers were not satisfied with this altogether; they wanted the rabbits eradicated also, but the Government officer Was bound hand and foot by rad tape. His instructions were to eradicate the scab; he had nothing to do with the rabbits ; he could not touch them until be got instructions to do so. A telegram was sent to the Government, asking who could be held responsible for these sort of things ? and the reply was that the question was a legal cue, and ought to be asked of a solicitor. 'The next information got from Wellington was that it was necessary to obtain the opinion of the legal advisers of the Crown as to who was responsible for the destruction of the rapidly increasing rabbit pest. The gentlemen who do the law advising of the Crown are, it would appear, intellectually slow, for it took them exactly one month to give their answer. Their opinion unfettered the red-tape-bound Reginald Foster, Inspector of Sheep. In the morning of the 2nd of March last he was bound hand and foot, and told the people he could not move in the matter of rabbits whatever happened ;in the evening of the same day Jho was ready to take active steps immediately. Now, it is most extraordinary that in a matter of such viial importance as tin’s there should be such unnecessary delays, and such extraordinary bungling. That it is necessary to look after the rabbit pest can be seen from the. following returns of the number of rabbit skins exported out of New Zealand from 1873 to 1882 :

The followjng ia an instance of the increase of rabbits on a single run in the Lower Awatere :

These returns give but a poor idea of the extraordinary rapidity with which rabbits multiply, but at the same time they are sufficiently alarming to make people take active measures to suppress the pest. Various means of killing rabbits have from time to time been suggested and tried, but little bunny’s family, despite all the ingenuity brought to boar upon its extinction, still continues to increase. A Mr Geo, Clifford, of Flnxbournp, who is described as one of the largest sheep farmers in New Zealand, has supplied to the Lyttelton Times a plan which he Las found very effective, He says:— “ babbits are not like scab. It is impossible to exaggerate the seriousness of the question-even for Canterbury people—for they,take root, us it were, slowly, and then suddenly spring into a millionheaded pest. ' It is my experience that at Flaxbourne they existed in moderate numbers, showing no signs of increase for 15 years. We looked upon them as a spoiting adjunct to the place. Suddenly they made headway. Tim country was absolutely denuded of vegetation in some of the paddocks. Unless a man lias been face to face with the pest, and felt that he has been very nearly ruined by it, he does not feel it to be quite near him.” Mr Clifford’s plan for exterminating rabbits—and be avers that they can be exterminated —is as follows: —He fences the land into paddocks, and then gets the sheep to eat down the grass till nothing is left for the rabbits to eat. He next scatters phosphorised oats over the paddock. He employed 40 men to do this. These men marched across the paddock and dropped a quantity of the phosphorised oats at every second step. This he says should be done in winter when feed is scarce, and ferrets and weasels should be employed during the summer to keep down the pest. By this means he says the rabbits might be completely annihilated. It is fortunate for us in this district that we know very little of what a rabbit plague is, but at the same time it may be wise for us to keep our eyes open, so as to take care that they shall not rusii suddenly upon us as they did on Mr Clifford at Flaxburne.

Skins. Skins. 1873 ... 36,716 1878 . .. 3,951,209 1874 ... 56,604 1879 . .. 5,384,506 1875 ... 111,142 1880 . .. V,505,616 1876 ... 811,632 1881 . .. 8,514.685 1877 ... 918,236 1882 . .. 9,198,837

Kabbits Eabbiln Killed Killed 1877 ... 11,510 1881 ... 112,000 1878 ... 25.031 1882 ... 132,000 1879 ... 33,000 1883 ... . 163,000 1880 ... 67,000 1884 ... , 311,000