NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



and estimating that each would lay 500 eggs, we have 

 a total of 31,500. Multiplying this by thirty, we have 

 the enormous total of 945,000 noxious insects destroyed 

 in a month of thirty days by a single night jar. Yet, 

 in an idle moment, or to gratify an insane desire to 

 kill, or impelled by superstition, a man will deliberately 

 shoot down such a bird. If the harm fell solely on 

 that man's head, then there would be some cause for 

 gratification in the knowledge that the guilty party 

 had paid the penalty. Unfortunately, the harm falls 

 upon the community generally. During the summer 

 season in South Africa the destructive termite, 

 popularly known as the white ant, sends forth vast 

 swarms of fertile winged males and females to spread 

 over the land and found new colonies. These often 

 issue forth in uncountable hosts on warm nights, and 

 the night jars get busy and gorge themselves on the 

 soft, milky bodies of these terrible pests. Every pair 

 destroyed means one colony less. A single colony 

 of these termites is capable of doing damage to the 

 extent of thousands of pounds sterling by eating 

 fencing posts, the woodwork of houses, destroying the 

 roots of plants, shrubs, and trees, as well as stored 

 fodder ; and, in fact, anything dry of a vegetable and 

 animal nature. The ravages of the white ant in South 

 Africa seriously impede the development of the 

 country, therefore the life of any creature which preys 

 largely upon this pest should be held sacred, and 

 there is no better ally than the night jar. This 

 bird is absolutely harmless to man, asking nothing at 

 all from him for its services except freedom from 



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