A Rabbit Destroyer

New Zealand Tablet, 30 August 1906, Page 10

A Rabbit Destroyer

.Trap-yards, ' drives ', poisoned water and pie-melon and apple-jam and chaff and pollard and grain, chokedamp cartridges and blowers, and the rest of tire deadly frippery, have all alike failed thus far to exterminate the ralbibit in Australia, or even to reduce its depredations to the limits of possible toleration. The rodent still 'goes marching along to fresh territorial conqpests, resisting by its voluminous fecundity every effort to move him off the surface of Australian earth. Years ago the chicken-cholera microbe was suggested as a sure rabbit-exterminator. But (if we may judge from a Sydney message in last Monday's daily papers) the Pasteur Institute has discovered a not less deadly and more discriminating microfoie for the purpose, and clapped the harness upon it. Here is how the cableman describes the experiments of the deputation from the Institute :—: — The experiments made by Dr. Danysz have prove-ri that birds, and animals other than rabbits, are not affected by the contagion, but that deliberate inoculation with his microbe for the destruction of rabbits proved fatal '. The good rabbit (like the good Injun in some people's view) is the dead one. And Dr. IJamysx may yet succeed, by the internal application of "las microbe, where external ' remedies ' have failed to cope with the pest. When a fox walks lame, old rabbits jump. So runs a western proverb. And in the mass, Brer Ratsßt can afford to smile a rodent smile at evety effort thus far put forth to shake effective salt upon his collective tail. It has long been recognised that a successful means of taking him of! would 'be found, if at all, in parasitic enemies attacking Mm from within. And t-he ' remedies ' for the rabbit pest that were sent by crude thco lists from over-sea were as many, as quaint, and as varied as the 'cures' for toothy-ache, rheumatism, an\l tic-douloiucux. Here is a fair average specimen sent by one N. W. Jones, a house-painter in Denver (U.S.A.) : — 'To the Governor of Australia.— Honored Sir — I heard a few days ago that you had offered a Big ' reward for any man that would releave Australia of the enormous amount of KatfbiW that are so thick as to destroy all the crops that aie raised in parts of your country. Now I can ri-d you of those Rabbits if they _ Burro* m the giound. We have what is called I tame Dogs here in this part of the United States of America, and I have a Kemidy or a medicene that is to much for their helth, for after 1 give them one dose they do not ask for another, and they just stay in the holes in the ground and never come out no more but die underground. Therefore there is no smell to cause disease to the people living m that V-accinity I can prove to you beyond doubt that this is a bonifide statement. King Microbe and' Bre'r Rabbit are now cn 3 aejod in a battle-royal in Australia. And the lesser fighters of the rodent are standing with grounded arms to watch the issue— as the rival armies long ago stood still and watched the issue of the fight beiween King Bruce and De Bohun at Bannockburn. If King Microbe wins, some of us may live to see the day when the rabbit shall be as rare in Australia as Mantell's coot or even the moa is in New Zealand.