316 Transactions. — Zoology. 



amongst the rabbits, bad his fate depended upon their sup- 

 pression, then he would have viewed the matter in a different 

 light. But he was only ten days in our district ; and, 

 whilst I thank him sincerely for his able paper, still must ] 

 take exception to his deductions. I hope he will reply, 

 through the Auckland Institute, to everything I say. The 

 ball has only just opened in the matter of this rabbit difficulty. 

 There will be scores of commissions, committees, and in- 

 quiries sitting upon it before a proper solution is arrived at. 

 I can but tell how we succeeded in reducing the rabbits in my 

 own district. I can but point to the similarity of the measures 

 we adopted to the natural remedies happening in other parts 

 of the world. 



Professor Thomas points out the great difficulty of sending 

 bladdery rabbits by sea. That is true enough. I tried to send 

 a dozen shipments to Sydney : they nearly all died. 



I am glad Professor Thomas says emphatically that 

 bladder-worm does not affect sheep, but sheep-fluke may 

 attack the rabbit. I must say that we have had iio case as 

 yet of a single sheep being attacked by bladder-worm — no 

 sturdy or gid. We catch the bladdery rabbits all over the 

 run, and there are usually 10,000 to 14,000 sheep running in the 

 paddocks. There are also about 1,000 cattle, and 60 horses. 

 (Seven out of ten rabbits we catch even now, as I write, are 

 more or less afflicted with bladder-worm and liver-rot.) 

 Neither have the horses or cattle suffered in the slightest way 

 from these rabbit-diseases. A slight touch of sturdy did 

 appear upon a neighbour's run (Mr. Bidwill's); but there were 

 very few rabbits there at the time, and not a bladdery rabbit 

 that I know of had been caught there. In Hawke's Bay 

 Province, near Hastings, where as yet no rabbits have been seen, 

 I saw in May last Mr. Ormond's sheepyards full of sturdied 

 sheep. But this disease was accounted for by the excessive 

 drought then raging, and the stock living upon tall fescue. 

 There had been four years of drought there, and not much 

 grass left, except tall fescue, the cattle living upon hay and 

 willows cut down for them. I did not account for the sturdy 

 in this w'ay at all, but rather to the warm, dry weather then 

 prevailing bringing to life the minute eggs from the sheep-sick 

 lands — eggs of worms that had been deposited there year after 

 year by the sheep themselves. Professor Thomas must kindly 

 say how it happened that this disease only sprang into life in 

 the driest and hottest season known there for years. But I 

 must say that the sheep appeared to get worse after a small 

 shower of rain. 



Mr. Bidwill attributed his attack of sturdy to the ergot on 

 the rye-grass. Agaiii, if I remember rightly, this was in the 

 hottest and driest month of the vear. I rather think that it was 



