antagonist can do to grapple successfully with the rabbit.

As to how, when, or wherefore the first rabbit arrived in this colony I am unable to supply any information, as there appear to be no public or private records of the facts. When I arrived in New Zealand, in 1858, and for years after, the rabbit plague was a thing unknown. At that time there were plenty of wild pigs, the progenitors of which are said to have been introduced by Captain Cook. These wild pigs were not very obnoxious, except on the sheep runs, where the old boars Occasionally killed and ate the young lambs. When beef and mutton were, in the early days of settlement, not always obtainable, and the price of the same was very high, the wild pigs afforded a good supply of flesh meat to country settlers.

have occasionally much suffered; and it is said that in some districts, where the small birds have been nearly exterminated, the insect pest has been very bad, and crops have been entirely destroyed by noxious insects. I have known several farmers and landowners who complain very little of the small birds; but some of the thrifty Scotch farmers will make a tremendous noise if they lose a bushel or two of oats by the birds. I suppose, however, there is no doubt that the small birds have in some localities done a good deal of mischief; but I think that it would be the height of folly to carry destruction of them so far as to exterminate them.

I saw the other day, in the child's column of a local newspaper, a request from a little girl for a receipt for poisoning goldfinches, which the child's editor kindly The wild pigs, however, in the now well-supplies. Fancy, children destroying these settled districts, are a thing of the past, though in the back country there are still probably plenty of wild pigs. It is as well Captain Cook did not land any rabbits with the pigs, for it seems likely that the rabbits would by this time have eaten up all the native pasture, preventing New Zealand from becoming the pastoral country it was in the early days, and the few white people then in New Zealand would have been quite unable to cope successfully with their rodent antagonist.

The Acclimatisation Society of Otago cannot be justly blamed for introducing the rabbit. I think the rabbit was in the country years before the society was instituted, though bunny was not then the Scourge he has since become. Certainly the society is guilty of introducing the small birds-linnets, sparrows, larks, blackbirds, and others—some of which birds at present much harass the farmers by eating wheat and oat crops, pulling out the seed when first sown, and also eating the grain just before ripening, while it is in the milk state. Some people say the small birds do more mischief than the rabbits. In individual cases among the farmers the small birds may occasionally do more harm than rabbits; but as regards the whole country, the injury done by small birds is quite insignificant to that done by rabbits. Nevertheless, a war is being carried on against the small birds, and they are destroyed by poisoned grain while rewards are offered for eggs and young birds. I think, however, that there cannot be a doubt these birds have done a vast deal of good by the destruction of noxious insects, from which the farmers

pretty goldfinches! I saw a pair of goldfinches the other day, and beautiful little things they are. In some localities the goldfinches are very numerous. In fields and gardens the acclimatised small birds are mischievous and somewhat of a plague; but I think that in the destruction of noxious insects these birds have done much good. Some of the native birds, especially a little green parroquet, are very destructive in the gardens occasionally, eating the berries.

I just

However, to return to our rabbits. I think it is about twenty years since the rabbit first began to be the fearful plague he is at present, though he was probably in the country years before that time. He seems to have become a plague all at once. I was suddenly and disagreeably made aware of his presence. Going out into my orchard one morning, I found a large proportion of the fruit-trees barked by the rabbits. I very narrowly escaped losing my whole orchard, in which there were trees of several years' growth. observed the damage in time-another night might have completed the work. I promptly tarred the trees, which stopped the rabbits, as rabbits have a great objection to tar. As long as a strip of bark is left, even if it be very narrow, there is some hope for the tree; but if the bark be gnawed off all round, and there is no connection between the lower and upper bark, the tree will inevitably perish. Now I have to protect all my young fruit-trees with wire netting, occasionally using tar or grease for the older trees. Vegetable gardens have to be protected by wooden palings or wire netting, or the rabbits

same.

such as weasels, stoats, polecats, and ferrets, which, when let loose and wild, may also be included in the term vermin. Some people have strongly opposed the introduction of such animals-from which New Zealand has hitherto been free-prophesying that they would eventually become a greater evil than the rabbits. Certainly the introduction of these creatures seems a dangerous experiment; but whether it will do more good than evil, or vice versâ, remains yet to be seen. It seems probable that these creatures, besides endangering the poultry of the farmers, and, perhaps, if they become very numerous, seriously injuring the pastoral industry by destroying young lambs, will play havoc among the curious native birds of New Zealand, several of which are 'ground birds, have very short wings, and cannot fly much.

would quickly destroy the vegetables; animals called by gamekeepers verminflower gardens must be protected in the same way, the rabbits being particularly partial to any young cuttings or tender shoots. The rabbits also do, or would do if not assiduously checked, much damage by destroying field crops, such as turnips, young wheat, and oats, and paddocks sown with English grasses. It is, however, on the large sheep runs that the rabbits do most mischief as regards the amount of loss sustained, and the money value of the Wool has been, and still is, the chief production of the colony, though frozen mutton has now also become a great article of exportation. The rabbits have greatly injured the pastoral industry, and the carrying capacity of sheep runs has been greatly reduced by the rabbits devouring the native grasses. It is said that five rabbits eat as much as one sheep. The money loss through rabbits has been something enormous. It has been estimated at a million pounds sterling a year, and in the aggregate the loss must be very large.

There has been a heavy call on human ingenuity to devise a plan to destroy rabbits and cope with the pest, and bring the rabbit war to a successful termination. Guns, dogs, ferrets, poison, traps, the introduction of the natural enemies of the rabbits-ferrets, weasels, stoats-have been tried, and attempts have been made, though hitherto unsuccessfully, to destroy the rabbits by inoculating them with an infectious disease. The New South Wales Government offered a high reward some time since to any one who would exterminate the rabbits by inoculation with an infectious disease. Pasteur attempted the task, but unsuccessfully. I think he considered he had not had fair play. That is all nonsense. If Pasteur's method had been successful, it would have been eagerly accepted by the New South Wales Government, which would have been only too willing to give Pasteur's method a fair trial, and pay the promised bonus if it had proved effectual. Pasteur's method seems to have been quite effectual when tried in Europe, with a lot of rabbits enclosed in a paddock; but it proved quite useless when tried in Australia in the open country. Had it been effectual, Pasteur's method would have been considered in these colonies as a great boon; but the fact is, it was comparatively useless.

There has been much difference of opinion in New Zealand as to the propriety of the introduction into the colony of the natural enemies of the rabbit · those

Wire netting is also extensively used for protection against rabbits, many miles of it being sometimes erected at a great expense. Moreover, a very stringent Rabbit Act has been made by our New Zealand legislature, under which a staff of rabbit inspectors has been created, such inspectors consisting of a chief and assistants, with districts appointed to them, where they have to look after the rabbits and see the provisions of the Act are observed by all owners or occupiers of land. Under this Act, every landowner or occupier of land is bound to keep his holding free from [rabbits, or, rather, to do the best he can in that direction. If an owner or occupier of land neglects this duty imposed on him, he is liable to be forthwith summoned before a magistrate and be heavily fined, this being the usual course adopted, though the inspectors may also destroy the rabbits themselves on occupied land, if the occupier fails to do so, and charge the occupier with the cost. There is no appeal from the decision of the magistrate.

The fact is, the country is almost out of its senses on the subject of rabbits. There is some awful penalty-I rather think imprisonment for years without option of a fine-for turning a rabbit loose in the country, though this seems to be like the proverbial locking the stable door after the horse has escaped, for there is now such an immense number of rabbits in the country that I suppose importing and letting loose a ship-load of rabbits would be only like a drop in the bucket.

For the most effectual way of destroying

the rabbits is by oats poisoned with phosphorus. Some oats are put in an iron pot or barrel, so constructed that the fumes of the phosphorus cannot escape from it; enough hot water is added to cover the oats, and then phosphorus is added, in the proportion usually of one of phosphorus to about sixty of oats. The pot or iron barrel is then suspended over a fire, and moved about till the oats are thoroughly saturated. When cool, these oats are placed here and there about the ground, in small portions at a time, about as much as would fill a teaspoon, the spade being usually used at the same time to turn up a clod of earth, on which the poisoned oats are placed or scattered, as rabbits are partial to, and seem to be quickly attracted by, any fresh turned-up earth. Oil of rhodium, the scent of which rabbits seem to be very fond of, is occasionally added to the oats, but, being very expensive, is usually dispensed with. Enormous quantities of rabbits are destroyed by these phosphorised oats.

This is the chief mode of destruction, but vast quantities of rabbits are also destroyed by steel traps. Trapping is mostly resorted to in the spring and early summer months, as the rabbits do not take the poisoned oats so readily in spring and summer, when there is new, fresh grass, as in the winter, when grass is scarcer.

the year round. The does have from six to ten young at a time, and a fresh batch of young ones about every month-ten or eleven times in the year; and the young rabbits begin to breed when they are about three months old.

Dreadful as the scourge of rabbits is in this country, the rabbits are not quite an unmixed evil. There is now a very large exportation of rabbit-skins, such skins being a very valuable commercial commodity. The price given by the dealers here to the collectors of skins is about one shilling and sixpence for the winter skins, and eightpence for the summer ones, the winter skins being thicker and more valuable than the summer skins. Destroying rabbits, and collecting skins, also afford a good deal of employment to men and boys, called "rabbiters," who may make a good income from the pursuit.

The

Latterly, to utilise not only the skins but the carcases also, rabbit factories have been established for the canning of rabbits and freezing of carcases whole. It is said these canning factories sometimes use over a thousand rabbits a day. Only the carcases of trapped or shot rabbits should be canned or frozen, and I suppose the factories are careful never to can or freeze for exportation poisoned rabbits. factory people want the Government to stop the poisoning of rabbits in the neighbourhood of factories. There seems to be some difference of opinion as to whether, or to what extent, the eating of rabbits poisoned by phosphorus would be injurious. Poisoned by arsenic or strychnine, the flesh, if eaten by human beings, or dogs, or cats, would be fatal. Dogs and cats, however, seem to eat the flesh of phosphorus-poisoned rabbits without injury, if they do not eat the viscera, especially the liver. A correspondent to a Dunedin newspaper, the "Otago Witness," says he and his companions, while, I think, on a surveying expedition, not only fed their dogs on phosphorus-poisoned rabbits, but ate rabbits so poisoned themselves, without injury. I certainly, however, should not like to eat such poisoned rabbits. I hear that the townspeople here give a good price for and eat rabbits-of course, not poisoned rabbits if they know it but country settlers, while there is such an abundance of cheap beef and mutton, seldom think of eating rabbits, and you may sometimes see the skinned carcases lying about the homesteads, even the dogs and cats not

These principal modes of destruction are supplemented by guns, dogs, and tame ferrets for the burrows. The household pusses, and cats gone wild, also destroy a good many rabbits, especially the young rabbits, and wild ferrets and weasels also assist to some extent. The native hawk, or rather kite, also probably kills young rabbits if he has a chance, though he mostly feeds on the carcases of poisoned rabbits. Notwithstanding the enormous annual destruction of rabbits, there appears to be no substantial diminution of rabbits in the country. In the well settled districts, where there are more people, the rabbits have decreased, but in outlying districts they appear to increase. After the winter poisoning, the rabbits are for a month or two perceptibly fewer in number, but in a few months they seem to be as thick as ever. This is no wonder, when we consider how quickly rabbits breed, and the great number of rabbits which in a short time might be produced by a single pair. With the exception of a month or two in autumn, and during winter, the rabbits seem to be breeding all | caring to eat them.