IN FEATHERS AND FUR. 171 
they are, too. They will hang on to an enemy till they are pulled 
to pieces. They will draw blood on a man's leg in a moment. 
They have also a king and queen, who though treated with 
the greatest respect, are, alas ! prisoners for life in their little room. 
They are larger than the rest of the tribe, and while there are 
many doors to admit attendants to the room, they are far too small 
for the royal pair to get out. 
I don't know as they care about getting out. The queen, at 
least, has too much to do to have time for airings, for she lays eggs 
at the rate of eighty thousand in twenty-four hours, which must 
keep her busy. However, she don't have to take care of all her 
babies, for hundreds of the workers are constantly employed in 
putting the eggs into their cradles, or cells, attending to the hatch- 
ing, and feeding them till they can feed themselves. 
It is nearly impossible to get a chance to see the inside of 
these ant-houses ; for as fast as they are pulled down, and the 
gallerys exposed, the workers rush in by millions, each with a 
piece of clay in its mouth, and stop up every passage, while the 
soldiers fight with the greatest fury. 
If the queen is taken out, they never leave her, but will get 
clay and build a thin dome over her, to shield her from harm. 
Much mischief as they do, however, they do one very useful 
work. In tropical countries, where the trees grow very large, and 
tornadoes are common, many trees are blown down ; and the ground 
would be covered with them but for these industrious little crea- 
tures, who eat out the inside, leaving only a thin rind of the bark. 
They are very good to eat. Birds are very fond of them, 
chickens snap them up greedily, Ants run after them and devour 
them by the million. Negroes of South Africa cannot get enough 
of them. They roast them and eat them by handfuls. The 
Indians make them into a sort of cake, and in fact, they seem to 
be the choice morsel of the country. 
They are called White Ants — but they are not Ants at all — 
they are Termites. You can see their house in the picture. 
