MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, 363 
No. IL—INDIAN TERMITES. 
Will any member of the Society, who may have made a study of the Indiar 
Termites, kindly inform me whether there are varieties of these pests, and if 
all construct a dome-shaped nest above the ground? I suffer a good deal 
from the depredations of these restless creatures, both in my bungalow and 
garden; but although I have looked everywhere Iam unable to discover 
any nest belonging to them above ground, either in my garden or compound. 
From consulting certain books on the life-history of Termites, I have been 
led to believe that a Termitarium was constructed altogether above ground, 
and that it was divided into four stories ; that nearest the point of the cone 
being empty; then came the Royal Nursery, followed below by a large Hall 
supported by pillars, supposed to be used as a sort of Gymkhana Station Club, 
without a liquor bar ; below this again, on the ground-floor of the building, 
was constructed the King and Queen’s apartment surrounded by various 
rooms for the attendants, and Commissariat Godowns. Now having duly 
written and obtained permission from a friend, whose large grass com- 
pound is dotted over with a number of fine residences belonging to the 
termite community, which, however, he professed no special interest in 
preserving, I started early one hot morning accompanied by two gardeners 
to dissect a Termite detached villa of moderate size, rising some three feet 
nine inches above the ground. My attendants duly informed me, that H, H. 
the Ranee’s room was built below the ground ; but I stoutly maintained that 
according to authority—“The Industries of Animals,” by Houssay, (Contem- 
porary Science Series), the Royal apartment must be above the ground, or 
just on a level with it,and to prove all this, I showed them a beautiful 
picture of the interior of a termite’s home, but which picture I rather doubt 
if they understood, although they left thumb marks on the margin of the 
page. We then set to work, first cutting the house down from the 
top to the ground floor, very carefully with a hatchet, so as to obtain a good 
section, The top story in this villa proved to be solid earth with very narrow 
passages running here and there vertically through it. Very few termites at 
first appeared, and these judging from their “nippers”’ were of the soldier 
caste, It was not until we had chopped two feet three inches from the top, that 
the Royal Nursery was reached ; and this proved only a detached room. Like 
all other rooms lower down, it was fitted up with a beautifully formed comb, of 
the shape and texture of a fine sponge; this was constructed of brown earth; 
all its small cells were the same size, and it felt cold and damp to the touch, 
The comb was dotted over with small white specks which I supposed to be 
eggs ; there were a number of white attendacts about, with a few soldiers 
just to keep good order, We then passed through some more solid earth 
and narrow passages, and close to the level of the ground came on a number 
of closely-connected Nurseries full of attendants and soldiers. No sign as 
yet of the Club Hall or Royal Bed-room, So we started to dig a trench, and 
