Philippine Journal of Science 
1919 
which has probably been made firm and sticky by admixture 
with certain substances from the bodies of the termites. Mounds 
over which a large heap of grass or sticks had been burnt 
were, on opening, observed to have all their inhabitants, includ- 
ing the delicate nymphs and the eggs, absolutely unaffected by 
the heat. 
Beneath the thick outer crust of clay are the “fungus gardens,” 
composed entirely of a mixture of fine pellets of woody excreta 
and plasterlike material, which have passed out of the alimen- 
tary canals of the workers. In a typical anay mound these 
gardens occupy the greater part of the inner cavity; compact 
slabs of moist clay, with numerous irregular passageways Tun- 
ing through them, form the partitions and, at the same time, 
the supports of the gardens. Each garden is composed of nu- 
merous vertical galleries formed by the intersection of the walls ; 
the general appearance is that of a sea coral, with the upper 
convex margin of each partition neatly finished and the lower 
part either unfinished or made rugged by being bitten off. 
As the name indicates, the termites utilize the gardens in the 
cultivation of certain species of fungi, or mushrooms, to be 
more specific. They regularly harvest the “buttons” of the 
fungi, as soon as they appear, for use as food. At certain 
seasons of the year, during the rainy months, the mushrooms 
break through the outer wall of the nest and develop into full- 
grown plants. These mushrooms are a common sight in the 
regions about jLos Banos on the mounds, or on the surface over 
underground anay nests; and they are much relished as an 
article of food by everybody who eats them. The local farmers 
know them under the general name of mamunsoJ 
Several theories have been proposed in connection with the 
periodical appearances of this mushroom. One explanation is 
that on the advent of a more favorable season, the fungi in the 
termites’ gardens become so numerous that a certain number 
find a chance to escape and develop into perfect mushrooms 
before the workers have a chance to harvest the “buttons.” 
Another is that the termites purposely allow the mushrooms to 
develop into mature plants in order to furnish seed for the 
following season. The galleries of the fungus gardens and the 
network of tunnels in the intervening slabs of clay also serve 
as nurseries, where the eggs and the young nymphs are taken 
care of. An upright, irregularly shaped pillar of clay, which 
forms the core of the nest, serves the double purpose of sup- 
4 Of or pertaining to the mound (Tag'alog). 
