File:The boy travellers in Australasia - adventures of two youths in a journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan and Feejee islands, and through the colonies of New Zealand, New South Wales, (14598362579).jpg

Identifier: boytravellersina00knox (find matches)
Title: The boy travellers in Australasia : adventures of two youths in a journey to the Sandwich, Marquesas, Society, Samoan and Feejee islands, and through the colonies of New Zealand, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia
Year: 1889 (1880s)
Authors: Knox, Thomas Wallace, 1835-1896 Harper & Brothers. pbl
Subjects: Voyages and travels Adventure and adventurers Tutors and tutoring Friendship Sailing Sailors Animals Natural history
Publisher: New York : Harper & Brothers
Contributing Library: School of Theology, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
down. Menwere hired to trap, shoot, or capture them in some way, and were paidat the rate of twopence for each rabbit-skin; but this plan was noteffective, as it was not rapid enough, and after many experiments wetook to poisoning the creatures by wholesale. How did you do it ? By means of grain saturated with phosphorus; we prepare bar-rels with closely fitting lids, and fill them half full with oats; then wepour boiling water on the oats, and when they are thoroughly soakedand swollen we pour in a quantity of phosphorus, quickly replacing HOW RABBITS ARE SLAUGHTERED. 273 the cover, so that the poisonous fumes cannot escape. This grain scat-tered ov^er the ground is deatli to the rabbits, but the disadvantages ofthe plan are that sheep are often killed by the poisoned grain, • To give you an idea of the slaughter of rabbits in Ne\Y Zealand,let me say that ten millions of rabbit-skins are exported every year, butthe value of these skins is very little compared with the damage which
Text Appearing After Image:
SHEEP AND HERDER KILLED IN A SXOW-STORM. the animals have caused. The latest official reports show that the nui-sance is checked in some localities, but there are yet many millions ofrabbits to be disposed of. In England and other countries foxes, wolves,weasels, and other noxious animals keep down the number of rabbits,18 27i THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN AUSTRALASL\. but here, where they have no natural enemies, the country suffers terri-bly. Many a sheep-farmer has been ruined by the total destruction ofhis pasturage, and the loss to the colony may be reckoned by millions of dollars. nX

Note About Images