1 5 
do an immense amount of damage in a few hours. This 
trouble might, without doubt, have been overcome had 
the goats proved a success in other ways. It seems strange 
that these valuable creatures should not have thriven ui 
Australasia as they have done in many arid districts of 
South Africa, where in a large dry tract of country known 
as the "Karroo,” between Capetown and Kimberley, these 
animals exist in thousands and thrive in the kopjes or small 
hills and stony ground found there, subsisting on the 
dry herbage' and stunted bushes of the district. 
Besides the larger animals above mentioned, the 
hare has been succssfully acclimatised, and spread itself all 
over the colonv, the climate and abundance of food having 
apparently increased their fertility, so that, instead of giving 
birth to two or three leverets, as is the case in the old coun¬ 
try, the colonial hare has been known to produce six and 
seven voting. Some complaints have been made by settlers 
that they destroy young fruit trees by nibbling the bark, but 
this injury can be easily prevented by wrapping strips of old 
bags round the butts of the trees for about 2ft. 6in. from 
the ground. The spread of the rabbit throughout the co¬ 
lony has militated considerably against the increase of the 
hare, as the two species do not get on together, and in 
this connection T desire to state most emphatically that the 
Society is not responsible for the introduction 
of this terrible rodent pest (the rabbit), which, as well as the 
fox, was introduced by private persons who were in.no wav 
connected with the Society. Pheasants, game and 
other birds and many sweet songsters were also 
introduced by the Society. The present Director of the 
Society’s Gardens (Mr. A. A. C. Le Souef), than whom a 
more capable and efficient manager could not be found, was 
appointed lion, secretary of the Society in 1870, and at once 
set to work to do what he could to acclimatise the pheasant. 
With that view the Society obtained 640 acres of land in 
the then recently occupied district of Gembrook. about 40 
miles from Melbourne, on the borders of Gippsland. I was 
closely associated with this work, as Mr. Le Souef and I 
purchased small properties adjoining the Society’s reserve 
to look after and nrotect the birds. We erected small home¬ 
steads, and as the young pheasants were reared at the 
Koval Park they were.conveyed by us to Gembrook and 
liberated there, clearings in the dense undergrowth having 
been made, and the land sown with English grasses, buck¬ 
wheat and other suitable food. At the same time Califor¬ 
nian quail were liberated, and the pheasants and quail soon 
increased so much that T have seen as many as 30 or 40 
pheasants and as many quail on my property during a 
