The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent. (Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss.) 1848-18??, 1850-02-01

of the laborers and of the pupG. In due
time these winged individuals leave the nest.
taking their departure Id the night. A
few, however, are detained by the laborers
until they have paired and lost their wings,
when one of the females is selected and is
imprisoned in royal cell, constructed by
the laborers, and enlarged from time to time,
as the body of the queen-mother increases
in size. The swarming males and fetrales
take flight and disperse, soon lose or pull
off their wings, which calculated to bear
/ them only few hours, and vast numbers
ofthese feeble and defenceless creatures fall
prey TO their numerous enemies. "Pro-
baby not pair in many Millions it is said,
''get into place Of safety, fulfil the first law
of nature, and Iay the foundation of new
community" The females, aftera confne-
ment in their royal cells, or when conceal
ed in their solitary retreats, increase enor-
mously in size, and soon begin and contin-
ue to lay a vast number of eggs, from which
new broods Of laborers are hatched. Tha
young supply all the wants of the irnpris-
oned mother, take case of the. eggs, lodging
them il. cells constructed for them. and
build upnew, or repair and enlarge the old
nests.
! There remains to be described the indi-
viduals called bv old writers, soldiers, from
their warlilte habits. They differ entirely
! from the other orders in their form ard pro-
portions, and exceed the laborers in size by
about one-filth of their length. The hind
body Of the soldier is soft and of white
color. The head is of horny consistence
and brownish color, and nearly oblong
square in shape; it is enormously large
compared with the body, and appears UNI
wleldy from its great size; it is armed with
pair Of powerful sharp-pointed nippers or
jaws, which cross each other at the end.
The an.ennR, feelers and legs are similar
to those Of the laborers, like whom the SOL
diers also appear to be deprived of eyes.
! These formidable individuals are employ
ed as senlncls, defenders and overseers:
| They are the first to show themselves
whenever breach is made in Che nest;
they fasten upon the invaders by means Of
their lorg and sharp jaws. and draw blood
by the severity Of their bites; they guard
the passages to the interior Of the hab;ta.
tion; superintend the tarU9 in all their Ia
bors, and appear to incte them to increased
exertions by their gestures.
Writers on these insects differ as to the
nature of the soldiers. Smeathinan de-
clares them to be the same as the laborers,
'onlv they have undergone change of
form, and approached one degree nearer to
/ the perfect state" Latreille supposed them
i
probably correct in their opinions: ft is
evident that the soldiers are not true p,tpG,
for they are not provided with the rudmen-
tary wings; neither are they wingless males
or females, for they have not compound
eyes. That they are something above COM
mon laborers is apparent from their superb
or size and from the extraordinary deFel-
! opement OF their head and Jaws. While
the greater number of the laborers are trans
formed to pup9, and finally the winged
males and females, some of them may be
checked in the developement oftheir wings
and reproductive organs, and thus be deS-
tined from infancy to remain permanently
wingless and sterile; so that on passing
! from the IdrUg state, the suppression OF
these parts and their functions may cause
the head and jaws to assume the extraor-
dinary size they exhibit, together with a
corresponding change in the instincts and
habits of the individuals. According to
this view, the soldiers are to be considered
as wingless kind of pupe, endowed with
superior powers and activity, but unsus-
ceptible of further change:
OF the best means of securing your re-
cords from the attacks of these insects,
have nothing to offer from my own expe@
rience, and can onl y suggest for conSidera-
tion what occur to me as the most likely
to have the desired effect.
The books already attacked should be
carefully aired and dried; the mutilated
leaves may be mended with gold-beater's
skin, or with bank paper; and if the covers
have been much injured, the leaves may
be taken apart and rebourd with the best
booll-binder's board and Russia leather.
They may then be kept in tight tin cases.
Impregnating the paper with some in
gredient offensive or poisonous 10 these
insects will doubtless tend to the preServa-
ton of the books, but the covers must also
be treated in the same way. A solutions
of corrosive sublImate of mercury is found
TO be an excellent preservative against the
attacks of insects. to most of which it is
Immediately fatal. 1t is the basis of the
article well known as bug-poison. The
solution is made by dissolving the subfi-
mate, finely powdered. in alcohol, the pro-
portions to be determined by trial, fofalco-
hol varies in It's strength. 1t should not
T contain so much Of the mineral as to leave
stain, when dry, on black feather. The
paper may be dipped into the solution, or
be washed with it by means Of a wide
camel's hair brush; it will then have to be
dried and pressed. If highly sized, the
writing qualities will probably not be in
lured by the solution; but if no! welEsized,
:. it may be necessary to size dry and press
it, after using the solution. Corrosive sub
t Innate should also be mixed with the paste
+ and glue used in binding the books. -
conceive, however, that the precaution
suggested in the last paragraph may not
be necessary, if all the books are kept in
! tight tin cases, which viii effectually ex-
clude the ternsites; they will, nevertheless,
N l. s,,,I -