THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 



181 



At Tonnay-Charente the Termites, having gnawed away 

 the supports of a dining-room without its being perceived, 

 the flooring collapsed during a party, and the entertainer 

 and his guests sank through. 



91. Nest of the Tree Termite (Termes arborum). Museum of Rouen. 



In tropical regions certain ants are not less to be dreaded 

 than the voracious Termites. They do not destroy our 

 houses, but they invade the fields, and build there enormous 

 nests fifteen 'to twenty feet high, which look like so many 

 little hills. They multiply to such an extent in certain 

 plantations that the colonist is obliged to abandon them. 



