, 1875-08-08

| great in Central America that it il exceedingly
rare to find books and manuscripts that have
eufV1Ted fifty or sixty years. Nothing eacapea
these terrible pests that can be- demolished by
their formidable jaws.
There are two species OF termites inlabitins
the south Of Europe the Te7n'ss luclfugus, q
brilliant black insect with russell legs. and the
1eTnes taricouis, commonly called the Yellow
necked White ant Neither species is known to
do any harm to human bahitatioas, but the lat
| ter lives IN the interior OF trees. and makes a
good deal OF mischief to the olive and other yalu-
able trees in Spain aud France: Towards the
it's appearance at Id Rochelle, in France and.
creating immepse destruction Of property.
filled the Inhabitants of the region with dlsmay.
| Many houses in the towns in the basin Of the
Charente which the ternites invaded ha7e been
| completely undermined bv them. The miners,
in accordance with their habit. construct covered
| galleries by means Of which they advance upon
building without danger Of discovery. The
| galleries are made Of agglutinated material and
are carried along ttie walls in cellars sud other
| apartments and are even suspended from the
! roof Like stalactites. Instances have been
known where tnase galleries OF tubes have
descended from the ceiling to the floor OF
cellar without extraneous support. n.
Boba- Moreau states that he has seen the
galleries thrown horizontally forward like
tubular bridge, in order to afford commnnica-
tlon with some desirable point.
OF the operations OF the termites in La
Rochelle. n. dc Quaterfages writes:
The Prefecture and few neighboring houses sEo
the principal Of the destructive ravages Of the
terttes, but here they have taken complete posses
siou Of the premises. IN the garden nos . stake
can b put into the ground, aud not plank can be
left the beds, without being attacked within twen
ty-four hours. The fences put around the young
trees gnswed from the bottonn whe the treea
themselves arc gutted to the very branches.
Within the building itself, tho apartments and ON
ees are alike invaded. saw upon the roof Of bed
hnIh In
by the ternites which looked like staIactites, and
which had begun to show themselves the very DAY a
tis ,ns reTen had LEFT the In the %
way between the ceiling and the foor or running all
along tine walls, and extending, no doubt up to the
very Rarrets for the principal staircase other gal
eries Observed between the ground floor and the
second door, passing under the plnsser whersyer it
was sufficiently thick for the purpose, and only COM
ing to view different points where the stones wero
on the surface for like other species, tho termitea
Of Ii Rochele always work under cover wheneyer It
il possible for them to do so.
One species Of termites. the TeY1nes jad1ipes,
dwells in the United States, extending rs far
moth as Massachusetts. It may be found under
stones and fallen timers, beneath which its bur-
rows extend into the ground. The workers OF
this species are white, with yellow heads, and
the other classes are brown, It dwells III COLO
MES OF hundred OF more in the labyrinth Of
subterrnnean galleries aud chambers Which it
e1cayates, In the centre Of its nest well-guarded
In their CELL dwell the royal pair, that "a in the
case With other tcrmiteR. found and perpetuate
the community This species can be accused Of
vines By consuming their roots.
Termites are greedllv devoured by the Aborig-
ines OF tropical countr1es. This negroes of Afri-
ca prefer thom roasted, whlle the Indiana Of
South America knead them with fo1r and make
them into a sort Of cake. Travellers who have
tested their quality pronounce these white soft
bodied irsecta very pa'atable, with flavor like
that Of marrow or sweetened cteam. smeath-