Note 62 — Chapter XXVII

The question whether it is desirable to introduce rabbits into the group is one that has caused much discussion. There are a multitude of small isles on which they might be reared with profit; but with the melancholy example of the devastation caused by their introduction into Australia, the danger is one not to be lightly incurred. We hear of large, once flourishing, stations in Victoria, which have been literally abandoned owing to the multitude of rabbits, where the attempt to raise crops has been given up as hopeless. One estate, not far from Melbourne, formerly supported thirty thousand sheep. Now it scarcely yields grass for five goats; and the man left in charge of the deserted house and farm-buildings has to buy meat for himself and fodder for his horse. No wonder that the planters of Fiji do not care to introduce the rabbit here.