236 FLORIDA FRUITS COCOA-NUTS. 



are very close together a rat can go from one to the other 

 across the limbs, and great care should be observed that 

 there are no lacTders near by, such as a dry limb hanging 

 on the ground, or a mangrove twig, etc. close by, because 

 if there be any such the rat will get up the tree independ- 

 ently of using the trunk, and the zinc or tin sheets would 

 be of no use. It is a safeguard, if you can not isolate all the 

 trees, to at least isolate clumps, as now and again the rats 

 will find an opportunity of climbing. Care must be taken, 

 too, to dislodge the rats from the top before putting on the 

 tin sheets. The best thing I have found for this is sand- 

 wiches of bread and phosphoric paste deposited among the 

 roots and fronds/ 



"Mr. John Clark, Haughton Court, Lucca, writes: 

 '"The zinc sheets to protect cocoa-nut trees from rats 

 have been tried here with good results ; the rats that live 

 in the trees must first of all be driven out of the trees or 

 be poisoned ; the sheets must then be nailed round the tree, 

 simply flat against the stem, low enough in the case of 

 short trees so that the rats can not spring from the trunk 

 below the sheet on to a limb that may be hanging down 

 near the trunk, which they have been known to do. Rats 

 have been seen attempting to pass over the sheets and 

 failing. 



" ' The sheets are zinc, forty-two inches by twelve inches, 



and apparently one thirty-second inch thick, and cost about 



eight pence each in London. Tin sheets last no time, and 



are not to be thought of. The nails for putting them on 



are ordered as fivepenny galvanized shingling nails.' 



"Father Woollett, Reading, writes as follows: 



" 'I have, here at Reading, used tin bands to prevent 



rats from climbing cocoa-nut trees, and with very good 



effect ; but I regret to say that, owing to the neglect of 



repairing damaged bands, the rats have recovered posses- 



