90 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [FEB. 4, 
seem to know that they are white ants, but I have watched them 
issue from their nests, located in rotting or decayed 12x12 tim- 
ber in roofs of buildings, and also on fences. At this time every- 
thing at the nest seems to be in a high state of excitement. As 
soon as the winged ants alight, they shed their wings, and then 
crawl after each other in long lines, apparently trying to pair. 
The winged ant is about three times the length of the workers, 
and I never see it at any other time of the year. 
In regard to the galleries about which you inquire, I have 
not noticed any on the ground, but always on a post, fence, or 
foundation-pier of buildings. The damage this little insect is 
causing to the buildings of the Panama Canal Co. and to wood- 
work on the machinery, with the work of the fungi, must be 
simply immense. ‘There is hardly a Canal building, elevated 
above the ground on stone or brick piers, but what has these 
galleries of white ants running up and around it, dooming the 
building or its furniture to destruction. New ash or oak fur- 
niture in our Commissary building is frequently destroyed. 
Kerosene will kill some, but does not prevent others from at- 
tacking the same piece of wood or furniture after the oil has 
evaporated. Fernoline might answer, as it retains its odor 
longer. I find by experience that it is best to get to the nest 
or colony, destroy it with kerosene, and take it down and burn 
it. I have one man detailed to goaround every Saturday, break 
all the galleries, and tear down the nests and burn them. 
At your request that I would break open their galleries and 
watch the ants repair them, I went to a place where I had no- 
ticed them, on a hgnum. vite fence-post in my garden. A few 
days ago, I opened several tracks or galleries, and found the 
samples in bottle No. 2 (soldiers, nasuti) to be most numerous 
just then, and very few like specimens No. 1 (workers). This 
was the first time that I broke open the galleries for observation. 
This morning the galleries were being repaired in some places 
only, while others were untouched. On disturbing other por- 
tions of the tracks, I failed to notice any workers, but swarms 
of soldiers or black-heads. 
With the naked eye I could not distinguish the motions of 
the repairers, so I took my eye-glasses folded together, and made 
a magnifier about equal to a watch-maker’s glass, and then I 
inwardly exclaimed, Eureka! Eureka! There were the black- 
heads—nasuti soldiers—all clustering around the break, heads 
or beaks pointing out, and when my breath disturbed them, 
giving a series of bodily jerks as though stabbing an imaginary 
enemy. At other times they were continually swaying their heads 
back and forth (Fig. 3). I failed at first to see any repairs— 
but stop! what was that little fellow doing? ‘There is another: 
