Phillips. — On Babbit-disease. 311 



and winter months. But, then, my rabbiter disagrees with 

 Professor Thomas in the matter of the use of areca-nnt. He 

 says that for the past eight months, following Professor 

 Thomas's instructions, he has desisted from giving his dogs 

 areea-nut, and there is not nearly so much bladder- worm on 

 the run now as when he used to give the dogs monthly doses 

 of the medicine. He thinks that the disease did not appear 

 at all upon Dry Eiver until about six months after I had 

 insisted upon his keeping the dogs in better condition than 

 they were, and his using some kind of purgative to expel 

 their worms. (That was early in 1885. See my paper, 

 " Trails.," vol. xxi., p. 430 ct seq.) It is difficult for me to be 

 certain as to exact dates now, as we never kept a strict record 

 of the appearance and course of these diseases. In my first 

 paper I thought 1886 was the year when we first began using 

 the medicine, but mv rabbiter thinks now that it was in 

 1885. 



As to the other natural diseases referred to, and discarded 

 by Professor Thomas as being of no use, we have had, and still 

 have, liver-rot, scab, and lice amongst the rabbits. And I 

 should advise every other runholder to see to the spread of 

 these diseases, just the same as, if he wished to reduce his sheep, 

 he would not dip, and would so allow their scab to spread ; 

 not pare and use the arsenic-trough, and so allow foot-rot to 

 spread ; not shift and attend to his hoggets, and so allow 

 lungworm to spread. These sheep and rabbit diseases I have 

 mentioned are Nature's simple remedies against excessive in- 

 crease, and our duty is to use and spread them if we desire to 

 conquer the rabbit-pest. Therein lies our remedy, not in 

 cholera-microbe solution . Nature never used cholera-microbes 

 against the excessive increase of the rabbit. The Eoyal Com- 

 mission in Sydney has made a capital blunder in overlooking 

 these simple diseases which I pointed out, and seeking, with 

 M. Pasteur's aid, for something ncAV. There is nothing new 

 under the sun. We shall not improve upon Nature's plan of 

 decimation bv disease. Slow, steady, and sure are these 

 simple diseases. In this consists their great beauty. Let any 

 runholder think for one moment of the state his sheep would 

 get into if he allowed scab, lice, ticks, foot-rot, and lungworm 

 to spread unchecked amongst them. His yearly increase 

 would soon be at an end, and his flock would actually diminish 

 in numbers. 



Scabby rabbits can be spread from run to run. Bladder- 

 worm is easily spread in the daily hunting which must be done. 

 (For it is a complete mistake to suppose that even natural 

 enemies will keep the rabbits down. They will not entirely 

 do so.) Liver-rot can be spread. Professor Thomas or Sir 

 James Plector can tell us how this can be best done. All these 



