the Termites of Africa and other .hot Climates. iSp 
in a confufed heap of ruins, .provided the king, ^nd .queen are 
not deftroyed or taken away, every interftice between the ruins, 
at which either cold or wet can pofiibly enter, w ill be fo covered 
as to exclude both, and, if the animals are left undifturbed, 
in about a year they will raife the building to near its priftine 
fize and grandeur. 
The marching Termites arenotlefs curious in their order, as 
far as I have had an opportunity of obferving them, than thofe 
defcribed before. This fpecies feems much fcarcer and larger 
than the Termes bellicofus . I could get no information relative 
to them from the black people, from which I conjecture they 
are little known to them : my feeing them was very accidental. 
One day, having made an excurfion with my gun up the river 
Camerankoes,on my return through the thick foreft, whilft I was 
fauntering very fiiently in hopes of finding fome fport, on a hid- 
den I heard a loud hifs, which, on account of the many ferpents 
in thofe countries,, is a moft alarming found. The next ftep 
caufed a repetition of the noife, which I foon recognized, and 
was rather furprifed feeing no covered ways or hills. The 
noife, however, led me a few paces from the path, where, to 
my great aftonifhment and pleafure, I faw an army of Ter- 
mites coming out of a hole in the ground, which could not be 
above four or five inches wide. They came out in vaf! num- 
bers, moving forward as faff feemingiy as it was pofiible for them 
to march. In lefs than a yard from this place they divided into 
two ftreams or columns, .compofed chiefly of the firft order, 
which I call labourers, twelve or fifteen a-breaft, and crouded 
as clofe after one another as fheep in a drove, going ftraight 
forward without deviating to the right or left, i^rnong thefe, 
here and there, one of the foldiers was to be feen, trudging' 
along with them, in the fame manner, neither flopping 
or 
