In 1911 a serious outbreak occurred again and in 1913 Sinclair, the chief veterinarian, was able to report that a m:nked decrease in the incidence of the disease had taken place. In South West Africa, due to the vastness of the country and the absence of veterinary control in the indigenous areas, the more difficult Angola, the position remained obscure for a long time. These cases all occurred in the Northern part of the Union, in a triangular area formed by Bloemfontein in the South.
Despite the achievements, which were made in the stllCl.Y of rabies. Of the other countries, Franco, Germany and Italy have the best control of the disease. The occurrence of the disease in this sandveld area is very similar to the distribution of Cynictis penicillata.
The infected mongooses discovered near DealsYille '''el'E'' were all found in the Southeru section of the Commonage. With almost every new outbreak of the disease, the same question is asked: what is the origin of the disease. In any case, the increases in the incidence rate of the disease occurred before any rain had fallen.
933.-- The increase in the incidence of rabies during the summer coincided with one of the worst droughts known in the country. It is therefore peculiar that the dog which plays the most important part in the epizootology of the disease in Europe should play only a secondary part in this country. This animal is limited in that:; distribution and occurrence in an area where rabies is not very widespread does not play a significant role in the spread of the disease.
There is no doubt that fleas will play a major role in the spread of the disease. They are found in the mud only in sparsely populated uninhabited parts of the country. The localities of the colonies marked on the map of Trompsburg Commonage illustrate this point wPll.
Of the first named species Roberts lists four and of the latter two geographical varieties. It is very widely distributed throughout the High Council of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
PART II
It is a more carnivorous titan, one of the other two species of jackal. It lives mainly on rodents and wild birds, and is also a scavenger. Despite being a scavenger, it is rarely caught in traps or killed with poisonous bait, as it is extremely cunning and has a very fine scent. Due to this destructive habit it has cost sheep farmers thousands of pounds through the loss of sheep and the protective installation of jackal proof fencing.
Thornton (1935) describes the lack of success in the destruction of· field rodents in connection with pest control, due to (l) the use of spent dust or defective equipment; (2) the provisional closing of the entrances, so as to prevent effective penetration of all the underground passages by the dust; (3) treating only apparently inhabited warrens, and neglecting abandoned or spare \Varrens, and (4) gassing holes while the ground is saturated with moisture, or while the animals are feeding. It was clear that an accurate knowledge of the internal structure of the colonies and bunows was necessary to devise the best. Digging operations were then started at one or more openings, and the warrens were followed r-arevol~r.
As the digging progressed, the depths and directions of the habitats were measured in the same way using the coordinates and traced onto the graph paper as accurately as possible. The three species of burrowing creatures mentioned above dig their burrows largely according to the same complicated pattern, which is easier to illustrate than describe. The first was dug and inhabited by Geosciurus, the second by Suricata, while the third was inhabited by Cynictis.
Oolony usually consists of a number of holes dug at an angle of about 30 to 40 degrees to the surface for a depth of two to three feet, according to the nature of the soil. A colony located on Trompsburg Commonage was fumigated with cyanogen gas and excavated 4. Very often, when excavating colonies populated by both squirrel and yellow mongoose, it was found that in the part where they live The first was the litter in chambers consisted of fresh straw, while the bedding in the chambers occupied by others was old and in a dilapidated state, or there was no bedding at all.
On the same subterranean level, we only occasionally find a tunnel that passes under another, thus allowing a connection or connection only when it is no longer noticeable, when it passes the upper level again. A feature that has been found to have a very significant effect on gassing (described(l) later) th(·. In such cases only a few openings on the periphery show signs of use.
