WOOD-DESTROYIIS'G WHITE ANTS. 375 



round about the mound. Since, therefoi'e, the Termites forming 

 the second class are of little consequence as wood-destro3^ers, only 

 one species is given as a representative of them, viz., Odontotermes 

 ohesus Ramb. (pi. I, 8) which is the common mound builder in the 

 Bhor Ghats, Salsette Island, etc. 



The third class — harmless Termites — is by no means small and 

 insignificant, as many will be inclined to believe ; the species it is 

 composed of are, in fact, fairly numerous. Some of the kinds 

 included in this class are well characterised and easily recognisable 

 by the peculiar build of their soldiers, v. g., JEutermes hifonnis Wasm. 

 fpl. I, 10) where no biting mandibles are developed, but instead of 

 them a nose-like outgrowth from the head, through which a sticky 

 secretion is discharged as a means of defence, and Cajrritermes 

 incola Wasm. (pi. 1, 9), where the mandibles are curiousl}?- twisted 

 and unfit for inflicting a.nj bite. Other kinds belong to what may 

 in a certain sense be called "parasitic Termites," for they build no 

 separate nests of their own, but, as a rule, take up their abode in 

 the nest quarters of the mound builders, like Synliamitermes q^iadri- 

 ceps Wasm., and others. 



Now the cjuestion arises, how are we to know one species of 

 White Ants from the other ? That some such knowledge is extre- 

 mely useful for the practical engineer, the architect, etc. — so as at 

 least to enable them to tell a noxious from an indifferent or harm- 

 less kind — need hardly be emphasised. But for the man who is 

 going to try experiments whether such and such a kind of wood, 

 either in its natural state or treated with certain preservatives 

 (creosote, carbolineum, or the like), is termite-proof or not, it is 

 not only useful but altogether indispensable. This is evident to 

 anj^one who reads the sometimes rather voluminous reports on these 

 matters. Or, what can be the decisive value of experiments of 

 which but the following scanty information is given: "pieces of 

 diff'erent kinds of wood buried in the nests of White Ants'" or "placed 

 in ant-hills," and " found intact when dug up after three months," 

 etc. ? The principal point is completelj:^ left out of consideration, 

 viz., which were the Termites made use of for this trial ? If the 

 experimenter put his pieces of wood in nests of the third class 

 of Termites mentioned above, it was not at all remarkable that he 

 found them safe after the three months or so they had been in the 

 nests ; even if he had left them there for double the time and more 

 the Termites would not have cared for them. Btit let the timber 

 be exposed to the attacks of the species of the first class, and the 

 result will probably be altogether different from what it has been. 



Even experiments carried on with species of the second class, 

 the mound-builders (and this is apparently the usual course taken,, 

 though no scientific name of a single species is mentioned in any 

 of the reports), are bound to be misleading. Logs of wood buried 



