White Ant Notes. 267 



The damage done somewhat resembled that of the Natal 

 termite {Terraes natalensis). The timber was eaten out, leaving a 

 thin shell on the under-side and one of greater thickness above. 

 Where the wood was destroyed, the space was not filled with earth, 

 as is the case with the Natal and other termites, but with a papery- 

 substance. The space is also not so closely filled up as in the case of 

 T. natalensis, the material being divided into thin perforated layers, 

 so that it presents a more or less spongy appearance. 



When the surroundings of the house were searched for a possible 

 outside source of infestation, the dead stumps of eight loquat trees 

 were found in a bamboo hedge above the house. These trees had been 

 cut down several years ago. In all of the stumps this Schedo- 

 rldnotervies was found or indications of its workings. One of 

 the stumps was eaten down into the ground ; of the others greater or 

 smaller portions were still remaining. 



In the stump nearest the room in which the infestation was first 

 discovered, and about 8 feet removed from the outside wall, a par- 

 ticularly strong colony was located. The probability that the infesta- 

 tion in the house was connected with this colony at once suggested 

 itself, and the most likely way by which the insects could have got 

 under the floor seemed to be by following the dead roots. An exami- 

 nation was therefore made of the roots, and it was found that, as 

 far as the roots extended, 2 to 3 feet, the termites were present. The 

 roots could not be traced further, their ends having decayed or having 

 been eaten away. Possibly the roots formerly extended below the 

 bouse and had led the insects there. 



In view of the abundance of the insects in the immediate vicinity, 

 it is also possible that a colony originated in the house from a pair 

 of winged adults. Numbers of these flying males and females must 

 have escaped from the surrounding nests each year, and pairs entering 

 the house might readily find a suitable place in which to establish 

 themselves and their brood. 



The house in question is an old one, built before the principles 

 on which a house should be put up to secure protection from white 

 ant attack were understood. The floors are not much raised above 

 the ground level, and sufficient air is not admitted below the flooring. 

 Though it was not possible to prove how the infestation originated, 

 it was evident that had those precautions been taken, which we now 

 know to be necessary to prevent other termite damage, the attack 

 by Schedorhinotermes would not have occurred, or else it could have 

 been easily dealt with, access to below the floor being possible. 



Fruit Export. 



The following fruit was shipped overseas during the month of 

 January, 1921: — Ex Capetown (boxes): Peaches, 24,703; plums, 

 18,755; pears, 22,151; nectarines, 8982; apricots, 177; grapes, 951; 

 melons, 4; total, 75,723. Ex Durban (boxes): Pineappples, 563. 

 Total shipments from all ports during present 1920-1921 deciduous- 

 fruit season : November, 1920, 42 boxes ; December, 1920, 27,422 

 boxes; January, 1921, 76,286 boxes; total, 103,750 boxes. The total 

 shipments during the 1919-20 deciduoiis season amounted to 265,300 

 boxes. 



