4»5 



Mr. Bamber would prove workable in practice : it would certainly 

 be cumbersome, extremely wasteful, and probably very deleterious 

 to the coolies working it. Its efficacy would probably depend 

 rather on the amount of sulphur vapour and sulphur dioxide 

 formed, than on its output of carbon bisulphide. I have gone 

 into the question in detail, and believe that the chemical could be 

 produced in bulk in this country at a far less cost than it would 

 be possible to import it for, when the prohibitive freight and 

 heavy loss in transport is taken into account. My estimates and 

 the facts on which they are based are embodied in Appendix A. 



XVI. — Summary. 



Summarising the above information, it may fairly be taken as 

 proved : — 



(#) That Termes gestroi, comparatively a scarce and unim- 

 portant species under conditions normal to the country, has 

 risen to the rank of a serious agricultural pest, owing to 

 the provision in large quantities of a suitable food tree ; 



(b) That the damage caused to estates is, in the main, 

 due to termites bred within their limits, and not in 

 the adjacent jungle ; otherwise trees near the boundaries 

 would be most affected, which is not found to be the case ; 



(c) That less damage occurs on light soil, and when 

 the spacing is very wide, but that this is far more than 

 counterbalanced by the more vigorous growth and better 

 return per acre on heavier soil more thickly planted ; 



(d) That the mischief is most active in rainy weather ; 



(e) That the nests of the termites are to be found inside 

 the trunks of the trees destroyed, and that these nests 

 swarm — i.e., attempt to form new communities — some time 

 between September and Christmas : 



(f) That no species of termite other than T. gestroi is 

 injurious to living Para; 



(g) That the attacks of the termites do not appear to be 

 due to antecedent disease fungoid, or otherwise, though 

 sometimes induced by mechanical injury to the cambium. 



XVII. — Recommendations. 

 I have to make the following recommendations : — 



(a) That where possible, planting be carried out by means 

 of seed at stake and not by stumps : 



(6) That when affected externally, trees be treated with 

 dry lime in accordance with previous paragraphs, and that 

 when internal damage is suspected, by means of carbon bi- 

 sulphide vapour forced into the cavities by means of a small 

 pump fitted with three valves, one for admission of carbon 

 bisulphide, from an attached receiver, one for admixture of 

 air near the end of the stroke, and one for the expulsion of 



