36o THE PHILOSOPHY 



nefts are compofed. Some build on the furface, or partly above and 

 partly below the ground, and others on the trunks or branches of 

 lofty trees. 



Before defcrlbing the nefts or hills, it is neceflary to give fome 

 idea of the animals themfelves, and of their general oeconoray and 

 manners. We fhall confine ourfelves to that fpecies called termites 

 beilico/iy oxfghters, becaufe they are largeft, and beft known on the 

 coaft of Africa. 



The republic of the termines bellicofi, like the other fpecies of this 

 genus, confifls of three ranks, or orders of infeds: i. The working 

 infeds, which Mr Smeathman diftinguiflies by the name of labour- 

 ers ; 2. The fighters, or foldiers, which perform no kind of labour; 

 and, 3. The winged, or perfed injecls, which are male and female, 

 and capable of multiplying the fpecies. Thefe laft Mr Smeathman 

 cM&xhQ nobility or gentry ; becaufe they neither labour nor fight. 

 The nobility alone are capable of being raifed to the rank of kings 

 and queens. A few weeks after their elevation to this ftate, they 

 emigrate, in order to eftablifh new empires. 



In a neft or hill, the labourers, or working infeds, are always 

 moft numerous : There are at leaft one hundred labourers to one 

 of the fighting infeds or foldiers. When in this ftate, they are 

 about a fourth of an inch in length, which is rather fmaller than 

 fome of our ants. From their figure, and fondnefs for wood, they 

 are very generally known by the name oi ivood-lice. 



The fecond order, or foldiers, differ in figure from that of the la- 

 bourers. The former have been fuppofed to be neuters, and the 

 latter males. But, in fad:, they are the fame infers. They have 

 only undergone a change of form, and made a nearer approach to 



the 



