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of not less than 10 feet in every direction, and further following the 
runways up to the nest. and destroying the queen. Even if the nest 
were not found, the disorganization of the runways was held to be 
sufficient to prevent the termites returning'to the same tree a second 
time. 
It could not be long before this method discovered its weakness. 
The only effect upon the attack would be to drive it to fresh trees. 
Moreover, many attacked trees would go untreated because, as 
Robinson was soon to point out, in a considerable percentage of eases 
there are no external signs of damage. 
By far the most important thing in this article of C-hrey’s is the 
following note in parenthesis : the nest “ is almost always found in a 
log or the stump of an old tree.” It is amazing to me that not 
until another six years had elapsed was this knowledge applied by 
treating timber, and that a further six years was allowed to pass 
before clean clearing as the only perfect treatment for Termes 
gestroi was seriously supported l>y any of the men engaged in 
agricultural research in this country. 
The first serious attempt to investigate the pest was made by 
Robinson, now Director of Museums, whose account is published in 
the Bulletin in December, 1904. I can do little more than indicate 
some of the more important features, and recommend you to re-read 
the whole for yourselves. A simple key to the species commonly 
found on estates is followed by a good account of the nests of the 
mound- building species. The useful part played by these species in 
converting timber into available plant food is pointed out, and the 
futility of treating them insisted upon. 
* Termes gestroi , Robinson remarked to be rare in Nature, and 
ascribed its abundance on estates to the stimulus provided by unusual 
quantities of suitable food in the form of rubber trees. The first 
detailed account is given of the external attack under coyer of the mud 
casing, under which, sooner or later, a non-resistent spot in the bark 
is reached, through which “ the whole body of termites gains access 
to the interior of the tree which is rapidly eaten out.” Robinson 
also was the first to point out that a large percentage of attacks 
are made below the soil level, no external signs of damage showing. 
He opposed the theory of antecedent disease, but pointed out the 
likelihood of Termes gestroi effecting entrance' through wounds. 
The remedies of the time are discussed and dismissed as failures 
with the exception of powdering the collar and roots thickly with 
freshly slaked lime after scraping off the incrustation. For the 
treatment of internally attacked trees an ingenious application 
of CS 2 vapour is suggested. But there is not a word about 
destroying the nesting sites. Robinson wrote : “ The nests are 
contained within the trunks of the trees attacked, and are formed of 
narrow labrynthirie chambers of woody and earthy matter , . , 
