Popular Qtrtfcmari) of &mmatrtr $atttre. 671 



They are not very curious or exact about 

 these turrets, except in making them very 

 solid and strong ; and when, by the junction 

 of them, the dome is completed (for which 

 purpose the turrets answer as scaffolds), they 

 take away the middle ones entirely, except 

 the tops, which, joined together, form the 

 crown of the cupola ; and they apply the 

 clay to the building of the works within, or 

 to erecting fresh turrets for the purpose of 

 raising the hillock still higher. 



The royal chamber, so called on account 

 of its being adapted for, and occupied by, 

 the king and queen, appears to be thought 

 of the most consequence, being always situ- 

 ated as near as possible to the centre of the 

 hillock. It resembles the shape of half an 

 egg cut lengthways, or an obtuse oval, and 

 is at first not above an inch long ; it is after- 

 wards, however, increased to six or eight 

 inches, or even more, being always in pro- 

 portion to the size of the queen, who, increas- 

 ing in bulk as in age, at length requires a 

 dumber of such dimensions. The floor and 

 roof of this chamber are very solid, and are 

 composed of hardened clay. Its walls are 

 pierced by several door- ways or entrances, 

 at pretty equal distances from each other, 

 and of sufHcient size to admit the soldiers 

 and labourers, but not large enough to allow 

 the king and the queen (the latter being, at 

 full size, a thousand times the weight of a I 

 king) to pass out. Surrounding the royal | 

 chamber are a number of others, of different I 

 shapes and sizes, but all of them arched : ' 

 these are occupied by tlie soldiers and la- 

 bourers that guard the pair, on whose safety 

 depends the happiness, and probably even 

 the existence, of the whole community. 

 These apartments, being connected together 

 by openings and passages, form an intricate 

 labyrinth, which extends a foot or more in 

 diameter from the royal chamber on every 

 side ; and they are surrounded by the maga- 

 zines and nurseries. The former are cham- 

 bers of clay ; and are always well fitted with 

 a kind of provisions, which appear to consist 

 of the gums or other thick juices of plants. 

 The nurseries, which are so called because 

 they are invariably found to contain eggs 

 and young ones, are entirely composed of 

 wooden materials, seemingly joined together 

 with gums. These nurseries are exceedingly 

 compact, and divided into very small irre- 

 gularly-shaped chambers, not one of which 

 is to be found half an inch in width. They 

 are placed as near as possible to the royal 

 apartments. When the nest is in the infant 

 state, they are close to the royal chamber ; 

 but as, in process of time, the queen enlarges, 

 it becomes necessary to enlarge this chamber 

 for her accommodation ; and as she then lays 

 a greater number of eggs, and requires a 

 greater numl>er of attendants, so is it neces- 

 sary to enlarge and increase the number of 

 the adjacent apartments ; for which purpose, 

 the small nurseries that were first built are 

 taken to pieces, and are rebuilt a little far- 

 ther off. The nurseries are always found 

 slightly overgrown with mould, and plenti- 

 fully sprinkled with white globules, about 

 the size of a small pin's head. These may at 

 first be mistaken for eggs ; but on being exa- 



mined under a microscope, they evidently 

 appear to be a species of fungus, in shape 

 like a young mushroom. The nurseries are 

 enclosed in chambers of clay, like those 

 which contain the provisions, but much 

 larger. In the early state of the nest they 

 are not larger than a hazel nut ; but in old 

 hills arc often as large as the head of a child 

 a year old. Under the dome is a large open 

 space, which is surrounded by three or four 

 large gothic-shaped arches, which are some- 

 times two or three feet high in front of the 

 area, but diminish very rapidly as they 

 recede from thence, and are soon lost among 

 the innumerable chambers and nurseries 

 behind them. There are, comparatively 

 speaking, few openings into the great area, 

 and they, for the most part, seem intended 

 only to admit into the nurseries that genial 

 warmth which the dome collects. 



The subterraneous passages which run 

 under the lowest apartments in the hill, in 

 various directions, are of an astonishing size, 

 being wider than the bore of a large cannon. 

 These passages or galleries, which are very ' 

 thickly lined with the same kind of clay of 

 which the hill is composed, ascend the inside 

 of the external shell in a spiral manner, 

 winding round the whole building up to 

 the top, and intersecting each other at dif- 

 ferent heights, opening cither immediately 

 into the dome in various places, or into the 

 interior buildings, the new turrets, &c., and 

 sometimes communicating therewith by 

 other galleries of different diameters, either 

 circular or oval. Under the ground there 

 are a great many which lead downwards by 

 sloping descents, three and four feet perpen- 

 dicularly among the gravel ; from this the 

 labouring Termites cull the finer parts, which 

 being worked up in their mouths to the con- 

 sistence of mortar, form that solid clay or 

 stony substance of which all their hills and 

 buildings, except the nurseries, are composed. 

 Other galleries again ascend, leading out 

 horizontally on every side, and are carried 

 under ground, near to the surface, a vast dis- 

 tance ; for if you destroy all the nests within 

 a hundred yards of your house, the inhabit- 

 ants of those which are unmolested further i 

 off will nevertheless carry on theirsuhterra- | 

 neous galleries, and invade the goods and 

 merchandize contained in it, by undermining 

 them, and do great mischief if you are not i 

 very circumspect. Sometimes their passages 

 cannot be continued under ground in the 

 required direction ; and the Termites then [ 

 make pipes or covered ways along its surface, 

 composed of the same materials as the nests, j 

 These they continue, with many windings ! 

 and ramifications, for great lengths ; and I 

 they construct, where it is possible, subterra- ' 

 nean pipes running parallel with them, into 

 which they may sink and save themselves, 

 if their galleries above ground are destroyed 

 by violence, or the tread of men or animals 

 alarm them. 



As we before observed, each community of 

 Termites consists of a king and queen, 

 soldiers, and labourers. The labourers are 

 the most numerous, there being at least a 

 hundred of them to one soldier ; they are 

 about a quarter of an inch long, run ex- 



