14 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
put into a sardine, and for "Settler's" tip from 
Bechuanaland. They are both good I am sure. 
The first cat on the third night took a lot of the 
strychnined fowl he had killed, and a few days 
dater was found dead in my mealies about 200 
yards away — a huge ugly brute 151b. in weight 
and 3ft. 9ins. from nose to tip of tail. Another 
•brute started by killing one and eating part, about 
a week ago. I found the fowl and put strychnine 
in about seven places in the remains of the fowl, 
also a trap in front and a sardine on the carcass. 
The meat was not touched for three nights, but 
next night the cat had eaten nearly all of the 
meat, avoided the trap and, strange to say, left 
the sardine. I have not missed any more fowls, 
nor have I found the dead cat; yet dead I am sure 
it is. I placed a sardine about ten yards away, 
and that was also taken. 
This locality cannot be beaten for growing 
wattle, gums and most sorts of trees, and where 
twelve years ago one had to go miles from one 
tree to another there are to-day thousands of 
acres of valuable trees, and these bring vermin of 
all sorts. One of my neighbours, not long ago, 
killed five wild cats, and last week dogs put up a 
wild cat and three kittens in the Government forest 
" Jessievale. " The cat escaped, but the forester 
managed to kill the three youngsters. 
WILD OSTRICHES, 
ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION, ETC. 
Your Commissioners considered the question 
of the protection extended to wild ostriches with- 
in the Union, and find that there is a unanimous 
opinion in favour of such protection being with- 
drawn. At the present time the protection serves 
no useful purpose. 
The wild ostrich, besides being destructive 
to veld and fences, is of so degenerate a type that 
nothing is to be gained in stamina or quality of 
feathers by cross-breeding. 
The indiscriminate breeding of ostriches by 
means of the incubator should be prohibited. 
There are, however, certain special circumstances 
under which the incubator is a necessity. In parts 
of the Eastern Province, owing to frequent rains 
during the breeding season, nests are often dam- 
aged, and the only means the farmer has of saving 
the eggs is by transferring them to the incubator. 
In other cases one or the other of a pair of birds 
may refuse to sit. 
Your Commissioners therefore recommend 
that only bona fide ostrich farmers, on the official 
roll, be licensed to use the incubator, on payment 
of an annual licence to be fixed by the Board. 
[My sympathy is with the wild ostrich. With- 
out the natural original parent bird, there 
would have been no Ostrich Feather In- 
dustry in South Rfrica. I trust the wild 
bird is not doomed to extinction. — Ed.] 
A Transvaal correspondent writing to "The 
Farmers Weekly" says :j 
We have planted some gum trees, and we 
have a lot of trouble with hares and meerkats as 
they eat off these trees on the ground. We will 
be much obliged to you if you would ask your 
numerous readers through the medium of your 
paper for some remedy. 
Thanking you in anticipation. 
[The numerous small animals of South Africa 
are in for a bad time. I trust steps will 
be taken to protect these interesting 
ground animals found in South Africa. — 
Ed.] 
THE RINDERPEST BARRIER. 
Mr. Charles Gray, Principal Veterinary Sur- 
geon of the Union and formerly Chief Veterinary 
Surgeon of Southern Rhodesia, passed through 
Salisbury recently on his way from German East 
Africa to Pretoria, says the Salisbury "Herald." 
For the last twelve months Mr. Gray has been 
engaged on an important mission, having for its 
object the prevention and spread of rinderpest 
from East Africa to South Africa. The policy 
pursued has been to clear a considerable stretch 
of territory of cattle altogether, and to inoculate 
the stock for some distance beyond this barrier 
against rinderpest. By this means it is hoped to 
prevent the extension of the disease to the south 
and west. Mr. Gray, his old friends rere will 
regret to learn, has been summoned to Pretoria 
on account of the serious illness of Mrs. Gray, 
but he hopes to be able to return to the north at an 
early date to complete his mission. Though 
located for long periods in fever-stricken areas in 
East Africa, he has had the good fortune to enjoy 
complete immunity from malaria. 
Why this last cutting was sent by my corres- 
pondent I cannot imagine; still it will doubtless 
interest some of my readers. 
What must be a record price — ^22 10s. — 
was realised for a bottle of Castle Beer recently 
at Mbamba, in East Africa. Capt. Erikson, of 
Bulawayo, purchased the only bottle of beer pro- 
curable at Zomba, and carried it carefully to his 
camp 500 miles inland. The beer was there put 
up to auction, and the proceeds handed over to the 
Ladies' Red Cross Working Party, Bulawayo. 
It was ultimately decided to divide the payment 
of the highest bid amongst ten officers, each con- 
tributing jQ2 5s. Capt. Erikson thoughtfully 
brought the empty bottle back to Bulawayo, a 
distance of 2,000 miles, and the Brewery Com- 
pany added £5 for the empty bottle,' bringing 
the total to £21 10s. 
