50 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



of its power for evil. It is difficult to destroy, for not 

 only does it excavate immense underground chambers 

 deep down from the surface, but it also travels rapidly 

 and for long distances whenever attracted by any class 

 of vegetation particularly to its liking. The sauba is 

 dreaded by the residents of the Amazon Valley, and 

 efforts are often made to fight against it by digging out 

 or flooding the nests, but such attempts avail little in 

 view of the enormous armies of these ants congregated 

 in every section of the country. If the Amazon Valley 

 should become the centre of a great agricultural 

 development in the future, one of the principal obstacles 

 in the way of successful results will be the constant 

 battle against the ravages of this plague. The means 

 at the disposition of the settlers at the present time are 

 quite inadequate to overcome this evil. For some un- 

 explained reason, the sauba avoids the fertile alluvial 

 deposits on the foreshore available for cultivation when 

 the rivers are low. 



