BY THOMAS P. LUCAS, M.R.C.S.E. 53 



creature's diseases. And if successful, what a source of danger ! 

 Increased stimulation of the glandular secretions would surely 

 cause the sickly animals to infect every fruit they touched. 

 What a danger would the marketing of such fruits be ! 



The only successful method of extermination is organized 

 wholesale slaughter in the creature's camps. The blacks were 

 accustomed to light fires all round such a camp, which almost 

 invariably is in tropical scrub, on damp or swampy ground. 

 The smoke on a calm day would rise and further stupefy the 

 sleeping hosts. They would throw sticks or boomerangs and 

 knock the creatures off their hold, and so secure them when they 

 fell. A picnic party might be organized, to prevention, amuse- 

 ment, and profit, in the shooting such camps. The fires having 

 been lit all around, a number of guns commence destruction. 

 As numbers fall, non-shooters can easily kill with a stick or 

 knife. The skins can be utilized, as rats' skins are, for making 

 very soft gloves. 



After some shots have been fired, the crowd will rise, sweep 

 round, and again alight. The sport and destruction can still be 

 carried on, until the remainder, thoroughly aroused, rise up and 

 fly away to another camp. 



This method is the most successful, but should be followed 

 up until the plague disappears from the country. This can only 

 be secured by concerted action. Even Divisional Boards have 

 only limited power. The matter is almost a national one, as 

 the crowds travel hundreds of miles when persecuted, only to 

 return when their tormentors are unwary. It is affirmed that 

 flying-foxes are now appearing northward along the coast of 

 China, where they were hitherto unknown. 



The only natural enemy to the foxes, is, as far as I know, 

 the Great Winking Owl of Australia. This is natural, even as 

 the owls all over the world prey on mice and bats. 



The economic study is a most serious one, demanding every 

 consideration, as the species as a plague threaten the fruit 

 growing industry of a great portion of Australia. The Natural 

 History study is worthy of pursuit, and should yield prizes of 

 discovery to the diligent student. 



