WOOD-DESTliOYIXG WHITE ANTS. 383 



co-operation. What we know so far of Indian Termites in general, 

 and of the wood-destroying forms in particidar, is de])lorably little, 

 and this, in spite of the fact that the ravages of AYhite Ants are so 

 M'ell known to ever}^ resident in the country, and that nearly everj^- 

 one has had, and has still, to complain of them. All wish, of course, 

 to get rid of the pest, but nobody appears to be prepared to take 

 his share in the necessary investigations into the subject. And yet, 

 if we want to succeed in protecting ourselves from the damage 

 caused by White Ants, our first and foremost endeavour must be 

 to study them, so that we may know as much as possible of their 

 various habits. To try to fight the Termites without this in- 

 dispensable information is just as useless as to attempt combating 

 a disease without knowing anything of its nature and specific 

 sjnnptoms. 



But what of the many " Termiticides " now offered for sale as 

 so man}" "infallible means to utterly exterminate all White Ants?" 

 If a single one of them would fulfill what is claimed for it, further 

 studies of the Termites would, of course, seem superfluous from the 

 practical or economic point of view\ But this is, unfortunatel}', 

 not the case ; all Termiticides have so far been found unavailing 

 when put to the test. The reason wh}^ is clear. At present we 

 know^ onlj^ how to get at single Termites found outside their 

 nests; ^ve are altogether ignorant of the Biologj^ of the White 

 Ants, i.e., of their mode of life, the structure and position of their 

 nests,* the dwelling-place of their queen. Yet with all this — and 

 especially the last — we must be well acquainted before we can 

 destroy Termites effectually. As long as a reproductive female 

 (a queen) remains in the nest, the colony will survive, because the 

 loss of some workers or soldiers will soon be made good by the fertile 

 female. 



This, then, is our task for the future : to find out which species 

 are true wood-destro3"ers, and stud}^ their Biology. But even the 

 most strenuous efforts of one man — or a few — are altogether in- 

 sufficient to solve this problem for so vast a country as India. The 

 generous co-operation of all who are interested in the war to be 

 waged on the White Ants, especially of the Officers of the Public 

 Works Department, Railway Engineers, etc., is an imperative 

 necessity. If everyone would make a point of helping to. the best 

 of his power in clearing away the darkness still prevailing regard- 

 ing our knowledge of the noxiovis Termites, great things could, no 

 doubt, be achieved within a short time. 



And what is required of the co-operator in this great plan is, 

 after all, but little : whenever and wherever you come across 

 White Ants in wood or near it, drop as many as 3^011 can get hold of — 



* All our wood-destroyers seem to have their nests underground, not in the wood 

 attacked by them. 



