S-IS HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



" The worthy gentleman at once casts off the tow-line, and he 

 and the lady of his affections buckle to without loss of time, 

 and excavate a home for the comfortable reception of the lady. 

 White ants are put to sad shifts at these times. Any dark nook 

 brings them to a halt, and the lee-side of a plate, tray, or the 

 shady side of a candlestick is often selected by the confiding 

 female. In aU her arrangements the male appears to acquiesce 

 without demur. 



" Vanity and vexation are the natural results of such ill-con- 

 sidered domestic arrangements, and the expiring couple, exhausted 

 with their endeavours to make an earthen nest out of a bamboo 

 tray and a cotton tablecloth, are scattered to the winds by the first 

 servant who may be pleased to screw up energy sufficient to 

 remove the debris of the evening meal, to make way for master's 

 breakfast next day. Of the subsequent career of the happy 

 couple it is out of my power to speak, never having had an 

 opportunity of carefully watching their movements." 



As to the Termites of Southern America, much information 

 may be obtained from Mr. Bates' valuable work on the natural 

 history of the Amazons. As many of his remarks simply prove 

 the identity of habits between the Termites of the old world and 

 those of the new, I shall say nothing about them, but merely 

 give a brief abstract of his observations. 



As with the species which have already been described, the 

 soldiers are the only individuals that fight. When, therefore, 

 the ant-bear tears down the walls of the nest and begins to lick 

 up the inmates, none but the soldiers are killed, they having 

 come out to fight the enemy, while the workers have all run 

 away and hidden themselves underground. In consequence of 

 this fact, the economy of the nest is but slightly disturbed, and 

 after the ant-bear has gone away, the workers begin to raise their 

 walls afresL 



It must be remembered that the nests of the Termite are not 

 confined to the surface, but extend to a considerable distance in 

 the earth, the subterranean galleries being proportionately large to 

 the superimposed nest. Indeed, the greater part of the material 

 with which the walls and galleries are built is brought from 

 below and carried upwards through the nest itself. There is no 

 visible outlet to a Termite's nest, because the insects construct 



