WHITE ANTS. 131 



able to save some, the others being so badly 

 bitten that I killed them at once. I suppose 

 the ants had at first been attracted by a dead 

 caterpillar, and had then proceeded to the living 

 ones. I once found a colony of black ants 

 comfortably established in a box of envelopes, 

 but fortunately discovered them before they had 

 torn up very many. 



The salale, or white ant, as it is generally 

 called, though I believe it is now found to 

 belong to the order Orthoptera, is the most 

 destructive of all, and if not carefully guarded 

 against will quickly demolish all the woodwork 

 of a house. These destructive insects like to 

 carry on their operations under cover, so for 

 this purpose they plaster the wood to be 

 attacked with a covering of sand, and eat away 

 under its shelter, often carrying on the covered 

 way a long distance if the desired wood happens 

 to be only at the top of a house. They usually 

 eat only the inside, leaving a thin coating, which 

 appears to be solid until touched. 



It is no unusual thing for a table to give way 



