144: QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [L Juny, 1901. 
possible that the fur had a commercial value, and went further than that. I 
secured the skins of some flying foxes, and submitted them to a high-authority 
in Sydney—namely, the Curator of the Technological Museum of that city. I 
suggested that he should obtain the opinions of furriers as to whether the fur 
had any market value, because I was aware that where the fur trade is a large 
concern, the tur of some animals which are very small commanded a high price, 
and I was of opinion that the fur of the flying fox had some estimable qualities. 
The Curator of the Sydney Technological Museum elicited some opinions from 
a number of furriers, and they intimated to him that, if the fur of the flying 
fox could be put upon the market in sufficiently large quantities and a con- 
tinuous supply guaranteed, they had no doubt that it would defray the cost of 
destroying them by the means [ indicated. I have given some consideration 
to the subject of destroying flying foxes by disease, but I am unable to com- 
municate any facts. I went so far as to communicate with a Russian gentle 
man in St. Petersburg, who has made the study of this microbe, or bacillus 
Typhi murium, « subject of special investigation. He sent me his pamphlet, 
which was printed in Berlin, but it really did not, in my opinion, offer a 
suggestion that it was possible to utilise it for flying foxes, and Mr. Pound, by 
experiment, has found that my surmise was correct. I will go further than 
that. Mr. Pound has suggested that if we could find a disease peculiar to the 
flying fox, so I understood him to say, it might be available for the 
destruction of flying foxes. Much as I respect Mr. Pound’s views 
in matters of this kind, I feel myself compelled to differ from him, and I may 
say I have had some experience of the utilisation of disease in the destroying 
of animals; also, | am somewhat acquainted with the literature on the subject. 
I have never heard of a single instance in which a disease peculiar to one animal 
has been successfully utilised for the destruction of animals of that kind except 
in the instance of the utilisation of Loeffler’s organism. In this case the 
animals which were destroyed were cannibals—that is, animals which fed upon 
each other. 
Mr. Darr (Razorback): I must thank all the speakers, on behalf of my 
association, for the information they have given on this subject. As for 
wallabies, I think we all have our share in paying for the wallaby scalps, so 1 | 
think it would only be fair if we asked the Government to help us in this 
matter of the extermination of flying foxes. These foxes also transmit diseases 
from tree to tree, and their destruction is therefore desirable, if only on that 
account. If the fur is of commercial value, then that would be an additional 
incentive to persons to destroy them. 
The Hon. D.-H. Datrrympre: I am sorry the time does not permit of my 
speaking at length upon this subject. Several views have been expressed by 
the different speakers. While all agree that the flying fox devastates orchards 
and makes it extremely difficult to get fruit when you have succeeded in 
growing it, the question ultimately seems to be, Who is to pay for their exter- 
mination ? Some seemed to think that it was a case for State action alone. 
Others thought the local residents, through the medium of the divisional 
boards, should undertake the work ; while others, again, thought it should be 
-dealt with by individual enterprise. It was pointed out, and it seems to me 
reasonable, that flying foxes, if they were harassed, would undoubtedly 
soon leave a district. For my part I have some boys of my own, 
and it seems to me if you could only supply a few boys with guns that nothing 
would suit them better. I dare say they would soon find out the difference 
between a flying fox and a bird, and I am satisfied they would find a good deal 
-of amusement in shooting flying foxes. Elying foxes used to be very bad in & 
garden I once tried to cultivate. We have this afternoon had the pleasure of 
listening to the opinions of experts on this subject, and it seemed they were 
-disposed to give it up, that the flying foxes were disease-proof, or that you 
would have to go and catch some new disease which would not affect anything 
-else and yet would be deadly to the flying fox But I have read of some 
remedies that were published. One was that you take fish hooks, suspend 
