75 



rebuild three frame buildings in Wasliiiigtou in consequence of the 

 work of this insidious foe. 



Damage of the sort mentioned has occurred as far north as r>oston, 

 but, as stated, greatly increases as one approaches the Trojjics, Avhere the 

 warmtli and moisture are especially suited to the development and mul- 

 tiplicivtion of these insects. Here houses and furniture are never safe 

 from attack. The sudden crumbling into masses of dust of chairs, desks, 

 or other furniture, and the mining and destruction of collections of books 

 and papers, are matters of common exi)erience, very little hint of the 

 damage being given by a surface inspection, even when the interior of 

 timbers or boards has been thoroughly eaten out, leaving a mere paper 

 shell. While confining their work almost solely to moistened or decay- 

 ing timbers or vegetable material of any sort, books, and pai^ers that 

 are somewhat moist, they are known to work also in living trees, carry- 

 ing their mines through the moist and nearly dead heart wood. In this 

 way some valuable trees in Boston were so injured as to make their 

 removal necessary. In Florida they are often the cause of great damage 

 to orange trees, working around the crowns and in the roots of trees. 

 They are sometimes also the occasion of considerable loss in conserva- 

 tories, attacking cuttings and the roots of plants. In prairie regions 

 also their work must necessarily be of the latter nature. 



The Avhite ant is not confined to country places, but is just as apt to 

 occur in the midst of towns, and especially in buildings which are sur- 

 rounded by open lawns containing growing trees and flower beds richly 

 manured. 



The first means of iirotection, therefore, consists in surrounding all 

 libraries or buildings in which articles of value are stored with clear 

 spaces and graveled or asphalted walks. The normal habit of these 

 insects of breeding in decaying stumps and partially rotted posts or 

 boards immediately suggests the wisdom of the prompt removal of all 

 such material which would otherwise facilitate the formation or i)er- 

 petuation of their colonies. Complete dryness in buildings is an impor- 

 tant means of rendering them safe from attack, and the presence of 

 flying termites at any time in the spring or summer should be followed 

 immediately by a prompt investigation to locate the colony and deter- 

 mine tlie possibilities of damage. The i)oint of emergence of winged 

 individuals may approximately, though not always, indicate the location 

 of the colony, and if it can be got at by the removal of flooring or 

 opening the walls, the colony may be destroyed by the removal of the 

 decaying or Aveakened timbers and a thorough drenching with steam, 

 hot water, or, i)referably, kerosene or some other petroleum oil. The 

 destruction of winged individuals as they emei'ge is of no value what- 

 ever; the colony itself must be reached or future damage will not be 

 interfered with in the least. If the colony be inaccessible it may some- 

 times be possible to inject into the walls or crevices, from which the 

 winged individuals are emerging, kerosene in sufficient (juantity to 

 reach the main nest, if the conditions be such as to indicate that it may 



