the Malay States must be given to rats. They have caused immense 
damage in several districts, completely destroying as much as 2,000 
acres in one locality. They are not constant in their attack.” 
In the same article the author referred to these animals nibbling 
the base of the palms and eventually eating out the heart, “ leaving 
a hole 2| inches in diameter.” 
As I have no experience in dealing with this pest, fortunately 
none of the coconut plantations it is, my privilege to visit regularly 
have suffered attacks of the pest, I think I can do no better than 
quote from Pratt’s article. 
Protection of young palms . — “ Out of a piece of zinc, 18 inches long 
and 12 inches wide, an arch is cut at the middle of the longer edge, 
measuring, approximately, seven inches wide at the base, and five 
inches high. The nut itself tits into this arch and by drawing the tin 
round the tree a cylinder about five inches in diameter is formed 
enclosing the base of the young plant. 
The base of the cylinder on either side of the arch is buried 
about three inches in the ground thus enabling the top of the arch 
to fit tightly over the upper part of the nut. No rat can harm 
a young plant protected in this way, for if access is obtained by 
burrowing there is no room for the rat to work within the enclosure.” 
This method seems to have had successful results. 
For older trees possibly an adequate measure might be to surround 
the stem of each palm near the base with a piece of tin in the form 
of a cylinder or “ with a collar of tin several inches wide and attached 
so that it slants outwards and downwards from the tree.” Such a 
method is too costly to put into practice unless the pest is causing 
really serious injury. 
