DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 825 
Professor Thomas, in his late report, tells me that I did wrong 
in giving the dogs this medicine, yet must I, from practical 
experience, say that to it, and the consequent dissemination of 
pieces of the tape-worm all over the run during the last two 
years, can I alone attribute the thorough infection of my land 
with bladder-worm or rabbit-fluke. The diseases of liver-rot, 
scab, and lice also appeared. The few rabbits that I have 
remaining are now nearly all diseased. I may perhaps have 
been wrong in administering monthly doses of the medicine— 
two-monthly doses would have been better; but that the mistake 
‘was not fatal is proved from the fact that the run now is 
thoroughly infected with the disease. I therefore still advise 
runholders in the South Island to each use a pack of dogs, feed 
them upon raw rabbit during the week and boiled rabbit upon 
Sundays, and give them two- or three-monthly doses of areca- 
nut. For I must respectfully ask scientific men, like Sir James 
Hector and Professor Thomas, to concede a little to practical 
experience in this special matter, seeing how great the evil really 
is to be contended with. (A reference to Professor Thomas’s 
report will show that that gentleman lays great stress upon the 
efficacy of the winter poisoning in my district. All I can say is 
that the winter poisoning did us very little good. Under it the 
rabbit-pest was as bad as ever.) 
About eight or nine months since my rabbiter informed me 
that he had applied to the New South Wales Government for the 
reward offered for a proper method of suppressing the pest in 
Australia. His suggestion was, infection with venereal. I did 
not believe in this, and considered in my own mind that the 
disease I had upon the run would be a better thing for Australia. 
We often discussed the matter amongst ourselves. The rabbits 
had disappeared like magic. Surely the remedies we had taken 
would apply to Australia. As to the ferret, I was not at all 
satisfied with its action. It did not appear to have done nearly 
the good that I had anticipated. The cats were doing as much 
good, I thought. I placed as little reliance upon the ferret as I 
did upon poisoning or rabbit-fencing. The ferrets died off 
rapidly from distemper. They did not appear to at all increase 
in sufficient numbers to cope with the evil. Although a gill- 
ferret littered in large numbers, yet the young ones did not 
appear to survive. But they had done acertain amount of good. 
