THE COASTS OF SAINTONGE. 351 



The labours of my prisoners appeared at first to 

 be continued without any intermission, but they 

 were relaxed as soon as the great works were termi- 

 nated. A few days, however, sufficed for the com- 

 pletion of the nest, and this time the largest cork 

 had almost entirely disappeared, whilst the earth 

 had been raised to the level of the other two. All 

 the surface of the soil was smooth, without any 

 apparent opening, and the earth, which at the begin- 

 ning of the experiment was as loose as fine sand, had 

 been so well consolidated, that only a few particles 

 were detached from it when the bowl was overturned. 

 Under this kind of crust, and at the very bottom of 

 it, there extended all round the bowl, a gallery about 

 half an inch wide, and two thirds of an inch high, 

 in the form of a semi-arch, which rested against the 

 transparent sides of the glass. Several openings is- 

 sued from this circular road, and gave access into 

 low vaulted chambers, large enough to contain thirty 

 or forty workers. These compartments communi- 

 cated with other internal cells, by means of very low 

 doors, through which five or six workers could pass 

 abreast. 



As soon as this work was completed, the Termites 

 remained at rest, at least during the day. I generally 

 found them grouped together in the darkest part of 

 the large gallery, or in the adjoining compartments, 

 whilst a few isolated soldiers seemed occasionally 

 to mount guard at the entrance of the empty cells, 

 but as soon as the light struck them, they manifested 

 an intense degree of excitement. Labourers and 

 soldiers then performed the singular and tremulous 



