Page:The Boy Travellers in Australasia.djvu/297

Rh the cover, so that the poisonous fumes cannot escape. This grain scattered over the ground is death to the rabbits, but the disadvantages of the plan are that sheep are often killed by the poisoned grain.

To give you an idea of the slaughter of rabbits in New Zealand, let me say that ten millions of rabbit-skins are exported every year, but the value of these skins is very little compared with the damage which the animals have caused. The latest official reports show that the nuisance is checked in some localities, but there are yet many millions of rabbits to be disposed of. In England and other countries foxes, wolves, weasels, and other noxious animals keep down the number of rabbits,