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Show 714 ACCLIMATIZATION OF MUNGOOS IN JAMAICA. [Nov. 28, 3610,918 ; and this industry is becoming largely extended yearly, as people find they can grow cocoa now, because the rats no longer destroy the cocoa as they used to do before the Mungoos was introduced. Coffee-planters admit they lose scarcely any thing now from rats, whilst at one time they suffered nearly as badly as the sugar-planters. It is now possible to grow and reap maize, peas, and many other vegetables, which but a few years ago were eaten wholesale by rats, and could not be grown without loss. Besides the rats, snakes, lizards, crabs, toads, and the grubs of many beetles and caterpillars have been destroyed to a large extent by the Mungoos. Unfortunately, ground-nesting birds, the Quail and others, have been diminished ; but the loss of poultry is not as great from the Mungoos as it was from rats, snakes, &c. before the introduction of the former. Since the introduction by me of the nine Mungooses in February 1871, several others have been obtained from India by other planters, viz. Mr. M'Phail, Mr. Burgess, &c.; but they were few in number, and are known in some cases to have died without leaving any progeny. Mr. Morris, in his letter of the 24th Feb. 1882 (published in the ' Field ' of the 6th of M a y of that year), appears to think that some Mungooses had been introduced into Jamaica earlier than m y importation ; but I certainly never heard of this, and I think Mr. Morris has been misinformed. I do not think I could have failed to hear of it, considering all I wrote on the subject in 1871. I am inclined to think he has confounded subsequent importations with the alleged previous introduction. I know that several Mungooses, purchased in Leadenhall Market, were sent to Jamaica shortly after I got the nine from India, and that they all perished. Mr. Morris says : - "From these nine animals nearly, if not all the Mungooses in the island at the present time have been obtained. Hence among the natives the Mungoos is known as 'Massa Espeut's Ratta.' " Besides the many hundreds of Mungooses trapped on Spring Garden and sold to planters in Jamaica, large numbers have been sent by myself and others to Cuba, Porto Rico, Grenada, Barbadoes, Santa Cruz, and elsewhere. In every case I have had good accounts of the great benefit arising from their introduction. I question much if such enormous benefit has ever resulted from the introduction and acclimatization of any one animal, as that which has attended the Mungoos in Jamaica and the West Indies ; and I marvel that Australia and New Zealand do not obtain this useful animal in order to destroy the plague of Rabbits in those countries. Much interesting information on the subject will be found in Mr. Morris's letter already referred to. November 12, 1882. |