OF CERTAIN TERMITE NESTS. 197 



their burden and drop it over the ridge down the steeper 

 outer side. The most striking feature of this is that when 

 the hole is situated in the middle of a path, away from any 

 bank, the ridge is always on the windward side of the hole. 

 A smaller ridge of the same shape and in the same position 

 is constructed by Phidole (? nietneri, Emery). If undisturbed 

 Myrmecaria eventually constructs a complete funnel round 

 the hole. 



As the rim of the termite chimney is never horizontal, 

 several were examined in order to determine whether there 

 was any constant higher side, but it was very evident that 

 no such relation could be established. Some of the chimneys 

 are closed at the top and have an opening just below at the 

 side : in these cases also there was no constant orientation of 

 the openings even in the chimneys of a single nest. Of three 

 chimneys on one nest, one was open at the top, another on 

 the side facing south-west, and another at the side facing 

 north-east. 



The mode of construction pursued by the Ceylon termites 

 (Termes redemanni and Termes obscuriceps) appears to differ 

 from that which has been described in other countries. The 

 workers bring up from the interior of the nest particles of soil 

 and sand which have been covered with saliva and place them 

 on the new work, where they adhere even if put on at the side. 

 In some cases the workers have been observed to move their 

 heads a few times over the joint and cement the particles 

 more firmly by a fresh secretion of saliva. Froggatt (14) 

 in describing the termites of Australia says : " The workers 

 return with grains of earth which they place on the fracture, 

 then turn round (and) void a drop of what looks like liquid 

 mud." Dudley and Beaumont (15) agree with this state- 

 ment, but I have never seen this process in Ceylon. The 

 material dries to a firm stone-like mass, but if evaporation is 

 prevented it remains soft. This property of drying like 

 cement has no doubt prompted the use of earth from termite 

 nests for top-dressing lawn tennis courts. 



