INSECTA—TERMITES. 837 
which are contrived with such art, that we are at a loss to say, whether they 
are most to be admired on that account, or for their enormous magnitude and 
solidity. They not only build larger and more curious nests, but are also 
more numerous, and do infinitely more mischief to mankind than other 
species. When these insects attack such things as we would not wish to 
have injured, we must consider them as most pernicious; but when they 
are employed in destroying decayed trees and substances which only encum- 
ber the surface of the earth, they may be justly supposed very useful. It is 
apparent to all, who have made observation, that they contribute more to 
the quick dissolution of putrescent matter than any other. They are so 
necessary in all hot climates, that even in the open fields, a dead animal or 
small putrid substance cannot be laid upon the ground two minutes, be- 
fore it will be covered with flies and their maggots, which instantly enter- 
ing quickly devour one part, and perforating the rest in various directions, 
expose the whole to be much sooner dissipated by the elements. Ina few 
weeks, these insects destroy and carry away the bodies of large trees, with- 
out leaving a particle behind, thus clearing the place for other vegetables, 
which soon fill up every vacancy ; and in places, where two or three years 
before, there has been a populous town, if the inhabitants, as is frequently 
the case, have chosen to abandon it, there shall be a very thick wood, and 
not the vestige of a post to be seen, unless the weod has been of a species 
which, from its hardness, is called iron wood. 
“The nests of the termites bellicosi are so numerous ali over the island 
of Bananas, and the adjacent continent of Africa, that it is scarce possible 
to stand upon any open place, where one of these buildings is not to be seen 
within fifty paces, and frequently two or three are to be seen almost close to 
each other. In some parts near Senegal, as mentioned by M. Adanson, 
their number, magnitude, and closeness of situation, make them appear like 
the villages of the natives. These buildings are usually termed hills, from 
their outward appearance, which is that of little hills more or less conical, 
and about ten or twelve feet in perpendicular height above the common sur- 
face of the ground. 
“These hills continue quite bare until they are six or eight feet high; but, 
m time, the dead barren clay, of which they are composed, becomes fertiliz- 
ed by the genial power of the elements in these prolific climates; and in 
the second or third year, the hillock, if not overshaded by trees, becomes 
almost covered with grass and other plants; and in the dry season, when 
the herbage is burnt up by the rays of the sun, it is not much unlike a very 
‘arge haycock. 
‘Every one of these buildings consists of two distinct parts, the exterior 
and the interior. The exterior is one large shell in the manner of a dome, 
large and strong enough to shelter the interior from the vicissitudes of the 
weather, and the inhabitants from the attacks of natural or accidental ene- 
mies. It is always, therefore, much stronger than the interior building, 
