330 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
form of tape-worm. There are two hundred and fifty different 
kinds of tape-worm, and I have no doubt that the tape-worm of 
the fox and wolf is a far more virulent disease than the tape- 
worm of the dog. But then I do not like to introduce such 
animals into Australasia amongst our sheep. The Hon. Randall 
Johnson tells me that a proposition comes from Africa for us to 
use here the civet-cat and the meer-kat. (The civet-cat is 
closely allied to the aard-wolf.) But, again, I say that I do not 
like introducing here more ground-vermin than are absolutely 
necessary. I find that I have succeeded with the dog, cat, ferret, 
stoat, and weasel. What necessity is there to introduce anything 
further yet awhile ? I feel almost sure that these animals will 
perform the work for Australasia. At any rate they should be 
tried before introducing any of the other animals. We never 
know how the fere nature develop in these new lands. These 
require their check just as much as the rabbit requires its check: 
hence my aversion to their introduction. Had the dog, cat, and 
ferret been capable of performing the work of suppression, I 
would never have introduced the stoat and the weasel into the 
Wairarapa. At any rate, if we have to concede to the full extent 
of the round. of nature’s law, let us wait until population 
becomes a little more dense with us, to impose the proper check 
of man. 
From all this it will be seen how totally wide M. Pasteur is 
from the truth, and how little dependence can be placed upon 
purely scientific reasoning in dealing with this question. 
That the rabbit multiplies itself rapidly upon insular lands 
of the globe is seen from two instances recorded in history. In 
A.D. 1 the inhabitants of the Balearic Isles petitioned the Roman 
Emperor Augustus for assistance in subduing a rabbit-pest there. 
Two legions of the Roman army were sent to get the plague 
down. It is evident now, from my course of reasoning, that 
these islands wanted the natural enemy. 
Also, in the case of one of the Canary Islands, or Teneriffe. 
Prince Henry of Portugal, I think, sent some rabbits to one of 
them, and the inhabitants had very great difficulty in subduing 
the pest. Iam a little uncertain as to the facts in this case, but 
I remember meeting with it some time since, accidentally, in the 
course of reading. This case, and the former one of the 
Balearic Isles, and New Zealand and Australia, are exactly alike. 
