CH. VIII.] 



THE WHITE ANT. 



155 



this purpose. The outward shell, or dome, is not 

 only of use to protect the interior buildings from 

 external violence and heavy rains, but to collect and 

 preserve a regular supply of heat and moisture, 

 which seems indispensable for hatching- the eggs 

 and rearing the young ones. 



The royal chamber, occupied by the king and 

 queen, is manifestly considered of the most conse- 

 quence, being always situated as near the centre of 

 the interior building as possible, and generally upon 

 a level with the surface of the ground, at a pace or 

 two from the hillock. Its interior shape nearly re- 



sembles half an e^ or an obtuse oval, not unlike a 

 long oven. In the infant state of the colony it is 

 scarcely an inch in length, but it is enlarged as the 

 queen increases in bulk, until it reaches the length 

 of about eight inches. 



Its floor is perfectly horizontal, and about an inch 

 thick ; the roof is generally of the same solidity, 

 being formed of one well-turned oval arch; the 

 doors are made level with the floor, equidistant from 

 each other, and just large enough to admit a la- 

 bourer, but not to permit the exit of their majesties, 

 who are imprisoned for life. 



In a large hillock, the royal chamber is surrounded 



