WHITE ANTS. 



605 



what surprising. One of the Cambridge journals mentioned, 

 some few years ago, that in a farmer's house a loaf of newly- 

 baked bread was placed upon a shelf, according to custom. 

 Next day, a hole was observed in the loaf; and when it was cut 

 open, a Mouse and her nest were discovered within, the latter 

 having been made of paper. On examination, the material of 

 the habitation was found to have been obtained from a copy- 

 book, which had been torn into shreds, and arranged into the 

 form of a nest. 





IfOUSG NEST IN BOTTLB. 



Within tliis curious home were nine young mice, pink, trans- 

 parent, and newly bom. Thus, in the space of thirty-six hours at 

 the most, the loaf must have cooled, the interior been excavated, 

 the copy-book found and cut into suitable pieces, the nest made, 

 and the young brought into the world. Surely it is no wonder 

 that mice are so plentiful, or that their many enemies fail to 

 exterminate them. 



A GENERAL account of the Termites, or White Ants as they 

 are popularly but erroneously called, has been given under the 

 head of Building Insects, and it has been mentioned that the 

 female, or queen, has a cell distinct from the habitation of her 

 subjects, and that she never leaves it until her death. In order 



