83 



runways, and then nest, runways and attacked trees were to be 

 thoroughly fumigated. "If a little, care and interest are taken" 

 he wrote, " and the treatment carried out as it should be, not only 

 would the cost be very small, but the trees within this area will 

 not again be troubled by gestroi." 



In older clearings, originally planted with rubber, Pratt 

 considered that in all except peaty soils, most of the timber would 

 have become too rotten to harbour Termes gestroi and the nests would 

 have been transferred to the rubber trees. All trees suspected of 

 being hollow were to be bored and fumigated, and any remaining 

 hardwood logs which contained nests were to be destroyed. 



In peaty soils, which frequently contain much buried timber 

 and roots, fumigation was to be used wherever possible ; if it wei'e 

 not successful recourse must be had to the isolating drain and deep 

 changkolling. Thus was the fumigator given official benediction as 

 the premier method against white ants, and clean clearing relegated 

 to the -background with scarce even a nod of recognition. 



This bulletin concludes with an exhortation to planters not to 

 be unduly alarmed for the future, inasmuch as, although it is wise 

 and profitable to treat the pest, " there must inevitably result a 

 steady diminution of gestroi, among the older rubber," except on 

 peaty soils. Such a disparagement of the danger would in itself 

 have been enough to deter planters from recommending expenditure 

 on clean clearing. 



From this time onwards more and more reliance was placed in 

 fumigating, generally with incomplete results. Those planters who 

 tired of the fumigator, usually fell back upon local applications of 

 poisons, with worse results. The pro-fumigants held that lack of 

 success was due to inefficient application of the method, and that 

 with trained gangs and competent supervision all would be well. 

 Late in 1914, I had my first experience of white ant work, and went 

 about an enthusiastic exponent of the fumigating school, but before 

 the middle of 1915 I was satisfied that fumigating, although the 

 best of the palliatives, was at best but a palliative. Perfectly 

 applied by perfect coolies, it might keep the attack down to a 

 minimum, but who possesses the perfect coolies ? Was there not 

 some other more effective remedy to be deduced fix>m our fuller 

 knowledge of the life history of the insect ? 



In nature, under jungle conditions, Termes gestroi is a rare insect 

 as compared with many other local termites. It is established in 

 certain dead or dying trees. At certain times thei-e is a flight of 

 sexed individuals from the nest, any pair of which can found a new 

 colony, provided suitable conditions — namely, shelter and dead wood. 

 In the jungle such suitable conditions are seldom met, but on a 

 clearing with quantities of unbumt wood, suitable nest sites are 

 abundant, and even if one favourite type of timber is absent, another 



