198 



CHAPTEK V. 



TERMITES. 



The habits of the Termites, or so-called White Ants, 

 have not been so closely studied as they deserve. Our 

 chief knowledge concerning them is derived from the 

 observations of Jobson, in his ' History of Gambia ; ' 

 Bastian, in ' The Nations of Eastern Asia ; ' Forsteal, 

 Lespes, Konig, Sparman, Hugen, Quatrefages, Fritz 

 Miiller, and most of all, Smeathman, in 'Philosophical 

 Transactions,' vol. Ixxi. In Africa these insects raise their 

 hills to a height of between ten and twenty feet, and con- 

 struct them of earth, stones, pieces of wood, &c., glued to- 

 gether by a sticky saliva. The hills are in the form of a cone, 

 and so strong that it is said the buffaloes are in the habit of 

 using them as watch-towers on which to post sentries, and 

 that they will even support the weight of an elephant. 

 The growth of these gigantic mounds is gradual, increas- 

 ing with the increase of the population. From the mound 

 in all directions there radiate subterranean tunnels, which 

 may be as much as a foot in width, and which serve as 

 roadways. Besides these tunnels there are a number of 

 other subterranean tubes, which serve the purpose of 

 drainage to carry off the floods of water to which the nest 

 is exposed during tropical showers. Biichner calculates 

 that a pyramid built by man on a scale proportional to his 

 size would only equal one of these nests if it attained to 

 the height of 3,000 feet. The . following is this author's 

 description of the internal structure : — 



These internal aiTangements are so various and so com- 

 plicated that pages of description might be written there- 

 upon. There ai'e myriads of rooms, cells, nurseries, provision 



