1898-99. | Queensland Termites. 9 
ing, and somewhat slower. It can be heard some yards away, 
and their line of communication across a building can even be 
followed by this means. We might think that this was the 
action of the workers’ mandibles upon the wood. It is not so. 
The sound does not coincide with the working, but has been 
thought to be an indication of invitation on the part of the 
soldiers—just as a dog barks when he hears a noise which he 
does not understand. A few taps with the finger in the 
neighbourhood of the termites will set the sound agoing. 
Destructive Habits—Undoubtedly the favourite food of 
termites 1s decaying wood. Why they should prefer this to 
grass seed or to things of a richer nature is their secret. I 
have seen them happy with the contents of a bag of flour, but 
upon the whole they are more at home with a rotting fence 
or an old deal board. Fallen timber strews the Australian 
plains, and is the grist for the termite mills, which are like 
the mills spoken of in Lonegfellow’s translation— 
‘*Though the mills of God grind slowly, 
Yet they grind exceeding small.” 
And let me take care not to exaggerate, as is popularly 
done, the speed with which these jaws do their work. 
Indigenous timber, particularly the Eucalyptus, has a tend- 
ency to rot at the heart while still comparatively young. 
The old iron-barks and gums of centuries may present a 
brave front to the storm and a crown of verdure to the breeze, 
although they are mere shells, their insides full of red moist 
paste which has already passed through the “mills” afore- 
said. Termites never prey upon healthy, living vegetation. 
When they attack a building it is with a recognised method 
worthy of description. They may enter at one corner of a 
house and make covered ways to the opposite corners, until 
they find the place which suits them best, and then they 
go to work. Their original point of entry is also their point’ 
of exit. Houses in Queensland, to defeat these attacks, are 
placed on piles or stumps. And it is a well-recognised fact 
that if termites are in possession of a house, it is only neces- 
sary to cut off their connection with the ground, or, to be 
more exact, with moisture, and they perish. 
For this reason, if for no other, it will be seen how difficult 
