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297. In other words, by the neglect of the Inspectors, by not compelling persons to take the necessary steps, the rabbits in many places have increased ?—Yes ; I think the Inspectors should have compelled owners of property m many instances to have employed more hands. 298. Did you ever hear of those who tried to do their best last year failing on account of those who did not do their duty ?—Yes. 299. Was this the case to a large extent in the Wairarapa last summer ?—I could not exactly say. I was not over all the district. I know of parts where the work was not properly carried out. 300. Where the Inspectors had been doing nothing'?— They might be doing something; but there were places where they were not using sufficient means in doing as much as they might have done. 301. In regard to winter and autumn, do you think the necessary steps were taken soon enough?— Yes; I think so. 302. Are you of opinion that good work was done this winter?— Yes ; all over our part of the country it has been very successful. 303. Were there not a large number of ferrets turned out by Mr. Hawkins at Bowlands ?— There has not been more than three hundred turned out there altogether, to my knowledge. 304. Are you not afraid of destroying ferrets by trapping? —Yes ; if they had been numerous I should have discontinued trapping, but as they were not I used what I considered the best means. It was on country where there were a great many watercourses that I trapped chiefly. 305. lion, the Chairman.] Did you ever catch a diseased rabbit in the trap ? —I have heard of an odd one, but not many. 806. Hon. Mr. Pharasyn.] Do you use your own discretion in working the rabbits or do you act under instruction from the Inspector?—l act according to my own discretion. 307. You have not recommendVd the introduction of the natural enemy ?—Yes ; I have recommended the introduction of the natural enemy some months ago. 308. At the time you went on the country, you say, the rabbits were pretty thick ?—Y'es. 309. What means have been used to keep them down?— The country has been partly poisoned, and four men were employed trapping afterwards; but they had not poisoned the whole of the country the winter before I went there. 310. You said you could not do much without wire netting : are you in favour of it ?—Yes, I am, if your neighbour has a number of rabbits. The netting in that instance keeps your neighbour's rabbits from coming through. 311. But you do not consider it a complete remedy ?—No. 312. Do you think wire netting should be made compulsory?— Yes, I do. 313. Mr. Anderson.] Have you every confidence in wire netting staying the influx of rabbits from one colony of rabbits to another ?—Yes ; providing the netting is kept in thorough repair. 314. Has the Inspector, to your knowledge, ever dictated to the settlers the best means to be used for the destruction of rabbits ?—No. I never heard him dictate to the settlers. 315. He has never told you?— No. Mr. G. Phillips examined. 316. Hon. the Chairman.] What is your name ?—Coleman Phillips. 317. Will you give this Committee a sketch of any information you have in regard to the destruction of rabbits ?—Yes ; I think, perhaps, I had better tell you what has been done in South Wairarapa. 318. Yes, if you please ; of your own experience ? —Well, we commenced in 1884 by adopting the simplest measures we knew of to suppress the pest. We formed ourselves into a voluntary Eabbit Board, and I suggested to the settlers and asked them to carry out the measures which I then proposed. I drafted the measures to be used, and they have been successful. The first one was simultaneous rabbit poisoning, which we all agreed to do on the Ist June ; the next was turning out the natural enemy—that is, all natural enemies we knew of, including cats, ferrets, stoats, and weasels; the next was a systematic hunting with dog and gun by the settlers after turning out the natural enemy; and, lastly, came the appearance of the disease (bladder-worm). You may really say there were five methods—first, the formation of a voluntary Eabbit Board ; second, systematic poisoning ; third, turning out the natural enemy; fourth, steady hunting; and fifth, the disease. These were the methods used in South Wairarapa for the suppression of the pest. Two things we set our faces dead against—that was, trapping and the erection of wire netting. The Committee may not be aware of the dangers of trapping, but it is specially noticeable in this way : Supposing a rabbiter sets fifty or sixty traps a day, and is always catching rabbits, which is generally the case, these traps in time become "blooded," and in that way attract all natural enemies which may be about the district — cats, dogs, ferrets, stoats, and weasels are attracted by the smell, and all come up to this place and scratch, and, of course, many are caught. With my plan, I believe, you can get the rabbits down to a minimum of safety, beyond which stage they will never be reduced. 319. What do you mean by a minimum of safety?— Nature's balance. No matter what means you may use, whether the turning out of the natural enemy or any other mode, you can never exterminate the rabbit. You find this to be the case in every other country. Now, perhaps you would like to know something about the disease. First of all, I may say that I find traps fatal to the object for which they w 7ere intended; and I object altogether to wire netting. In North Wairarapa a totally opposite course was adopted from ours —rabbit-netting was relied upon ; few natural enemies were turned out; and no dogs were used or proper hunting done. The settlers there, I believe, objected to that. What is the result? Looking at the north, as one instance : the rabbits