48 LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 



ticular dislike to eating in the light) they hollow 

 out only the inside of the wood, while the out- 

 side appears to be untouched, hut will crumble 

 to pieces with the slightest blow, being often no 

 thicker than a sheet of pasteboard. 



They dig long galleries under ground, from 

 their hills to the neighboring houses, entering 

 them through the floors or the posts that sup- 

 port the roof. They destroy all the books and 

 papers in their way, as well as cloth and linen, 

 boots and shoes, and indeed almost everything 

 except glass and metal. They then travel back 

 through their long galleries, carrying fragments 

 of wood or any thing else they may wish to take 

 home with them. 



An English lady, who has lately returned 

 from India, where she resided several years, 

 told one of my friends, that when she left Eng- 

 land, she took with her a trunk containing silk 

 and woollen dresses; but she found the climate so 

 warm that she had no use for this clothing, and 

 the trunk remained unopened for several months. 

 At length she concluded to unpack her dresses, 

 and send them as presents to some of her friends 

 in England ; when, what was her astonishment 



