AUSTRALIAN PLAGUES.
Australians sometimes claim that they have no native plagues : all are imported. This is not wholly true. _Mice and caterpillars (resembling our tent caterpillars) are certainly exceptions. As to cactus, the worst of all the plagues, I do not know whether its first appearance is recorded. However, the list of imported plants and animals that have done infinite harm is grim : it includes the fox, introduced by a few mad hunting men, which does immense harm and cannot be exter- minated ; the rabbit, which is the worst plague ; the black- berry, the sweetbrier, and the Cape dandelion, all among the destructive weeds, and the earwig (which is especially pestilen- tial in New Zealand, where even the hare and red deer are reckoned as plagues).. You never know what evil influence may be exerted by plant or animal that may be beautiful, useful, or innocuous in its natural habitat. However, it was certainly a delight to watch our English goldfinches playing among the tree-tops close to Canberra and to see our oaks green and flourishing above the lovely city of Perth. Not all the efforts at naturalization are bad.
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