PLAGUE OF RATS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18545, 4 May 1922, Page 8

PLAGUE OF RATS

LORD HOWE ISLAND SUFFERS. (From Oub Own Oot?respondent.) SYDNEY, April 19. ' Through the ravage’s of rats, the chief industry of Lord Howe Island —palm seed raisjnsr—is threatened with extinction. ' During the past 12 months the rats have increased at puch an alarming rate that there are now millions of them over-running tho island, and destroying everything in their path. Not only do these pests devour the palm seeds, which take four years to ripen, bur, they gnaw the roots of palm and bulb. Bird life has been nearly wiped out, because the, rats attack not only the birds, but also th© eggs in the nest and tho fledglings. Those birds were a valuable asset to the settlers, as thev lived chiefly upon the insect life of ’lie palm groves, and now pests are having a free run, destroying what the rats leave. One of the worst results is that tho undergrowth on the island, oomnrising millions uuon millions ot young palms, had to be destroyed, in older to rob the hunery hordes of the excellent cover which enables therii to thrive and multiply. It seems ns if nothing cari h" done to cope with the menace, though all sorts ot expedients have been tried. The rat reigns supreme, and a miracle would be required to rid this boau'iful island of the invaders.