379 



them are peaceful, but if the termite colony be disorganised, the ants 

 at once attack them. Ants greatly diminish the number of colonising 

 individuals at the time of swarming. Three Staphylinid beetles have 

 been recorded as living in colonies of Leucotermes flavipes, viz. : — ■ 

 Philotermes pilosus, Homalota sp., and Tachi/porus jocosus. All stages 

 of the Scarabaeids, Honiovdlgus squatniger and Valgus canaliculatus, 

 are commonly associated with termites in decaying wood. Termites y, 



are infested externally with mites and internally with protozoan / ^ 

 parasites. The presence of the latter is stated to retard sexual develop- 

 ment. New colonies are formed (1) by sexed colonising adults ; (2) 

 by neoteinic royal individuals, produced from nymphs of the second 

 form ; (3) by neoteinic reproductive forms supplied to orphaned 

 colonies. Colonies formed in the last two ways, increase in size very 

 rapidly owing to numerous egg-laying queens. The damage done 

 is such that numerous methods have been tried to combat them. 

 Timber in contact with the ground should be impregnated with coal- 

 tar creosote. Various methods of superficially treating timber with 

 creosotes, carbolineiims, etc., are temporarily effective, if the work is 

 thoroughly done, especially at the base. Before treating with chemical 

 preservatives, especially where the brush method is employed, it is 

 essential that the timber be thoroughly seasoned, otherwise penetration 

 by the preservative will be retarded. " Blue oil," the residue left 

 in the distillation of mineral oils after the isolation of kerosene and 

 paraffin, has been found effective. A saccharine solution containing 

 a salt of arsenic is being tested. Bichloride of mercury and zinc 

 chloride have been found useful if the wood is not in contact with the 

 ground. In general, serious damage to standing timber can be 

 prevented if the timber is utilised within from one to two years from 

 the time it was cut. Where the injury is confined to buildings, fumi- 

 gation with hydrocyanic acid gas is recommended. Certain species 

 of wood, e.g. Tedonagmndis [tea,k], Nedandr a rot/^irtei [greenheart] and 

 mahogany, are immune to attack. This immunity is not due to hard- 

 ness, but to the presence of certain distasteful oils or alkaloids. In 

 certain species of pines, e.g. Pinus jmlustris, the heartwood apparently 

 is resistent. In Southern Rhodesia, the wood of Cojjaifera nwpani 

 withstands termite attacks for years and is therefore very suitable 

 for fences. Tests of the relative resistance of various native and exotic 

 woods have been begun, but no definite conclusions have yet been 

 reached. 



A bibliography of 59 works is added to this paper. 



Beal (F. E. L.). Some Common Birds useful to the Farmer.— U.S. 

 Dept.Agric, Washington, B.C., Farmers' Bull. 030, 13th February 

 1915, 27 pp., 23 figs. 



An account ot the habits and food of 23 species of birds common 

 in the United States is given, based on the results of several years' 

 investigation. In the majority of cases the food consists largely of 

 injurious insects. For example, the eastern meadowlark, occurring 

 from the Atlantic Coast to the Great Plains, feeds on grasshoppers 

 and crickets, various species of May beetles, the larvae of which attack 

 the roots of cereals, the cotton-boll weevil and the recently introduced 

 alfafa weevil of Utah. In the case of the phoebe, the food is almost 



