214 THE INDUSTRIES OF ANIMALS. 



to give his assistance when occasion arises ; hence he 

 has received the title, absolutely justified under the 

 circumstances, of Father of the People. Around the 

 couple zealous attendants crowd. There are about 

 two thousand of them, workers and soldiers, licking 

 the two royal captives to remove any dust from 

 their hairs, and bringing them food. As soon as the 

 queen lays an egg, one of the workers hastens to 

 take it gently between its jaws ; it is the property of 

 the state, and is carefully carried off to the second 

 storey where the state nursery is situated. 



The centre of the ground-floor, therefore, is occu- 

 pied by the royal apartment ; around this, and 

 communicating with it by means of numerous 

 entrances, are a number of cells used by the attend- 

 ants on the queen (s). These little chambers are sur- 

 rounded by a labyrinth of passages. The central 

 room and its dependencies constitute a solid mass, 

 atound which other chambers are grouped. The 

 whole space between it and the general wall is filled 

 by vast storehouses, divided into many very spacious 

 compartments. Within them are piled up the 

 provisions which the Termites harvest every day ; 

 they consist especially of gums and the juices of 

 plants, dried and pulverised so as to form a fine 

 powder. Access to this property is given by means 

 of large corridors which cross one another, and con- 

 duct to the outside through the horizontal galleries 

 traversing the wall. 



Above the whole of this ground-floor rests a thick 

 vault of clay, which forms a strong floor for the first 

 storey (b). This is composed of only a single room ; 

 it is put to no use, unless to isolate and support the 

 apartments of the second floor, in the arrangement of 



