1.—5

12

great rapidity. Where they have increased most is in that part of the country where there are most small farmers. 180. Is the nature of the ground there more favourable?—Tes, inasmuch as there is a great deal of tea-tree and rubbish about it; and, in spite of a considerable population, they have increased until, as I heard latterly, a farmer has been compelled to abandon his farm in consequence of the nuisance. That part of the country, and indeed I may say the whole of the North Island, is favourable to rabbits. Originally it was covered with fern. That fern is in course of destruction ; but the tea-tree is springing up with great rapidity almost everywhere, in the Hawke's Bay as well as the Wellington Province. 181. In place of the fern ?—Tes ; and wherever the tea-tree is, the rabbits will thrive independently of the character of the country. As I have stated, where the rabbits are worst on my property is where the soil is of a compact, hard description, but at the same time sheltered. 182. Mr. Seymour.] Do you find them use this shelter instead of burrowing?— They are beginning to burrow a little now. 183. Do you think they could exist without burrowing ?—Decidedly. 184. The Chairman.] Do they make their nests above ground, or do they always burrow ?—I should think the majority of them make their nests above the ground in the fern and in the rubbish. For the first two or three years we used to think they did not burrow, but we gradually found shallow burrows, and now we find deeper burrows, so that they are evidently acquiring the art of burrowing. 185. What means do you employ to keep the rabbits under ?—I only commenced this year, and latterly I [have generally had two men employed in that part of the property in which the rabbits are. 186. Do you suppose you will be able to exterminate the rabbits yourself unless a stringent law is passed compelling landowners to destroy them ? —I do not believe in your legislation. 187. Tet you complain of the loss occasioned by the nuisance ? —I complain very much in that way; but at the same time I realize that a hardship might be done by compelling persons to expend money. We are destroying that which affords a cover for the rabbits as fast as we can, but we have not always an opportunity of burning it. 188. Tou object then to any legislation upon the subject whatever ? —I believe it would be useless. I differ entirely from Mr. Robinson in what I heard of that gentleman's evidence. We encourage the increase of wild cats, and our experience is that they destroy many rabbits ; we likewise encourage hawks, which are found to be serviceable in the destruction of rabbits, and latterly we have turned out some ferrets. 189. Are you aware of the legislation of Tasmania on this subject?—l think the circumstances of the country very different to those of New Zealand. The districts were occupied chiefly by small farms, and there were consequently greater facilities for destroying the rabbits. 190. Do you think there is no similarity between the rabbit nuisance aud the scab in sheep ?—No. I think you may more easily disperse rabbits than eradicate that disease. I know two cases in the Wairarapa where persons have prided themselves upon getting rid of rabbits. They did so by turning out small dogs. I think the fact of the rabbits getting on to my property was entirely caused by a neighbour turning out small dogs to drive them away from his land. 191. Mr. Larnach.] Do not you think that if no measures are taken to prevent their increase they will overrun the country ?—No, Ido not. They are a very great nuisance; but I look to cats, ferrets, and occasionally the use of arms to keep them down. Ido not know whether the Committee has any evidence with reference to ferrets before it. 192. The Chairman.] I was just going to ask you if you could supply us with information in that direction ?—I have no personal evidence upon the subject, but it is one to which I have directed my attention for some time past; and I have often discussed the matter with Mr. Ingles, the recent member for the Kaikouras, and I told him of the efforts I had been making to introduce weasels. He then informed me that Mr. Buller, of that neighbourhood, had some time ago turned out ferrets on his property, and the soil had since been pretty free from rabbits. Still, in some of the gullies there were rabbits in sufficient quantities to be worth snaring. The trappers went into one of these gullies one day, and from that time in one month they got no less than forty-seven ferrets. They had no idea at that time that the ferrets had increased to such an extent. If so many were caught, no doubt there must have been a very considerable increase in the number of these ferrets, and they would do a good deal to keep down the rabbits. I believe when the country is thoroughly well open, we shall not be troubled with them much, unless in sandy soils. They will not go very far from the rubbish, and in this island especially there are no properties which have not vast quantities of rubbish affording shelter to these rabbits, and when they burn the fern and stuff, the shrieks of rabbits can be heard in all directions. The best way to get rid of the rabbits, to my mind, is to deprive them of shelter. 193. Mr. Wason.] In the South Island the circumstances of the country are considerably different from the North Island. In Canterbury and Otago the country is not divided as it is here into large freehold properties, but into freeholds and leaseholds interspersed with each other, and a large piece of freehold may adjoin a small piece of freehold, and so on. Thus, in the event of our establishing Rabbit Boards and levying a general rate, you will admit the injustice of imposing a like rate upon leasehold ahd freehold ?—I do not think, in Canterbury, except on the river banks, that there is much danger to be apprehended from rabbits. 194. Take the case of Southland, where these leases will expire within the next four or five years, what means would you suggest of putting these leaseholders on an equal footing with the runholders. What do you consider they would be entitled to pay —half of the shilling in the pound or threequarters?—l think the principle of the Road Board rates is a good one. They should only pay half the rates. That is the principle of the legislation in connection with roads. However, Ido not think that there should be legislation. The great thing is to prevent its becoming an extensive nuisance, and Ido not think any efforts to utterly destroy them would prove effectual. That is what Mr. Robinson, of Colac, told me. "We still have them," he said, " but we keep a couple of boys and a man at times, and drive them away by that means." 195. Mr. Wason.] But you are aware, I suppose, that Australia is a larger country than New