OBSERVATEONS ON SOME SOUTH AFRFCAN TEllMETES. 877 



of any sorfc to grow upon and send their roots ramifying' 

 tliroug'h the mounds, that it feeds naturally upon dead veget- 

 able matter. It is only circumstances that render it a pesti- 

 lential creature. Upon the whole it plays a beneficent role 

 by soil improvement, and nowhere is this more evidenced than 

 in sugar-cane fields, where the cane flourishes amazingly upon 

 the nest-sites, giving* a greater yield and withstanding 

 drought conditions better. On the other hand, a zone of poor 

 cane is often noticed about such a site, which may be due to 

 the concentration of org'anic matter by the termites ; or, in 

 other words, the constant removal of all the dead parts of the 

 gi'ass formerly present. 



Termes b a dins Haviland. PI. XXX, figs. 1-6. 



Termes b a dins is not in the strict sense of the term a 

 masonry mound-builder; at the same time, under native con- 

 ditions, nests are found in mounds which are so hardened that 

 they might be described as masonry. If it were not possible 

 to observe in and about Pretoria numerous nests without 

 mounds, which are distinctly the work of one colony, it would 

 be quite natural to describe the species as a mound-builder; 

 at first, I found it possible to locate nests under nature con- 

 ditions only when in mounds. Whilst no nests have been 

 found in open lands which could, with certainty, be attributed 

 to this species, still certain soil subsidences and deserted 

 cavities which have been found cannot readily be credited to 

 any other termite. Generally speaking, it may be conceded 

 that any superficial indication of a nest would be obliterated 

 almost as speedily as made in open country. This will be 

 better understood from the description of the modern nests, 

 of which six have been explored. 



The modern nests are found beneath the shelter of ever- 

 green trees, shade-belts, and hedgerows; they are very 

 common at Pretoria in the Zoological Gardens, in the principal 

 parks, and in the grounds surrounding many residences. Such 

 nests are readily detected by the series of close-set hillocks 



