372 HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



cement. Marlatt tells us that "a few years ago it was 

 found necessary to tear dowm and rebuild three frame 

 buildings in Washington in consequence of the work of 

 this insidious foe." 



W. G. Johnson records an interesting and serious in- 

 jury to a large church in Baltimore. The winged indi- 

 viduals of the termites had swarmed in great numbers 

 in the Sunday School room of the church during service 

 and caused a good deal of confusion. On investigation, 

 the floor joists, which rested directly on the ground, were 

 found to have been entirely honeycombed. Even the 

 laths and studding of the walls of this room had been 

 badly mined, so that eventually all the woodwork in the 

 room had to be removed and replaced with new. 



Since the introduction of our species of termites into 

 Europe, it has caused considerable injury there. Some 

 years ago it entered one of the Imperial hothouses at 

 Vienna and caused such persistent and decided injury, in 

 spite of all that was done to prevent its ravages, that the 

 building had finally to be torn down and replaced with 

 one of iron framework. 



There are also several instances of injuries by termites 

 to stored documents, books, and papers. In the De- 

 partment of Agriculture at Washington, a great many 

 records and documents had been stored in a moist vault 

 in the basement of a building and left undisturbed for 

 several years. When they were finally examined, they 

 were found practically ruined by the excavations and 

 minings of white ants. Much the same experience was 

 hr.d in Illinois where an accumulation of books and papers 

 belonging to the state was destroyed by the work of 

 termites. 



