St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-29
ABOUT CHINESE ANTS.
Annoy, China, With Its PestiferouS
Little Insects Is Nice Coun-
try to Not Live In.
The Little Terrors Deyour Wooden
Furniture and Break Up
Dinner Parties.

DR.. Edward Bedloe. of Philadelphia,
the Clover Club with who is now
United States consul at Annoy, China,
in his latest report to the secretary of
state submits an inventory of the furni-
ture at the consulate, with some inter-
esting and characteristic comments on
life In China. and the effects OF the
insects upon the government property.
The genial doctor apparently imaglnes
that his place is to be given to one OF
sthe original Cleveland men," so he has
cleaned up the consulate and reported
accordingly. Under date of March IL
he writes the st. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat:
81 have the onor to forward here
with an inventory of the property OF
this consulate belonging to the nlted
States government. | am unable to
state it's present value on account of
the ravages of the climate and insect
life. These are so great that the only
article in my possession which can
pronounce unchanged is the iron safe.
TO an American, no matter how
philosophic, the conditions of life in
Amoy are exasperatingly novel. AL
most every wooden article is bound
sooner or later to be devoured by
white ants. The adult insect lays a
million eggs, which hatch and forth
with begin to bore away from the light.
As the grub perforates the surface of
the wood it is as large as the point OF a
needle, so that the hole it makes Is in
visible to the naked eye. 1t grows rap
idly, and by some strange chemistry
thriyes upon dry wood without any
moisture except what 1t extracts or alb
serbs from the atmosphere. LII never
stops work until it attains its full size.
which is about five times that OF the
garden ant at home.
..Then i'm large groups it bores out
ward. producing holes which vary in
size and shape, from circle quarter
of an inch in diameter to seam six
inches long. AS it energies ithas wings,
and behaves somewhat like bee in
hiying season. By day it moves but
little. but at dusk it starts for the near
est light 1t is fascinated by the latter
exactly as is a moth. 1t plunges
into YOUR lamps by millions, and
i'm few minutes Is scorched
and wingless. The nuisance Is so
great that it stops dinners and forces the
people either to swelter III close room
or TO sit in the dark. In two years L
have known thirty dinner parties to be
broken up in this manner. On one oe-
casion in this consulate the dead and the
living ants filled every plate and glass
and covered everything in the dining
room. The next morning the servants
swept out more than two bushels OF
dead insects. But to this trouble one
gets used.
1.-The wood from which they have
eaten the interior is mere honevcomb,
breaking or collapsing without warning.
Since have been here the floor In my
office has been undermined in this way,
and twice broke through under my
weight (the doctor only weighs lib
pounds). Chairs. tables, boxes, book
case. racks, doors and windows have
shared the same fate. AT the present
moment | know that the ants are busy
inside of dozen pieces OF furniture in
the house, and l can do nothing but
await the end. For this reason l am
unable to state the value. or even the
real condition, of anything wooden in
the establishment.
ssMipor evils are the cockroaches.
which tiy in these ATTITUDES and have a
strong prediction for the finger nails
and toe nails of persons asleep, as well
as for all kinds of bookbindiHg. leather
goods and old papers. There are, too,
savera! varieties of large spiders of
ferocious aspect but peaceful DISPOSE
! ton; red ants which fight and fear moth
| ing. and four or five insects or microbes
| which barrow into the skin and produce
cutaneous troubles resembling Itch.
1.-The climate is unfavorable Tor the
preservation of anything. The north
east monsoon is a perpetual gale. and
in the southwest monsoon season we are
constantly visited by typhoons, which
are the cyclones of the far East In
| addition to the high winds is the atmos-
| pheric moisture, of which we have no
! parallel at the home. At the damp
season everything leaks. TIE water
coHdenses OH the walls and fur
nIture, AMI runs 10 the floor in
rivufets all pools. In cities like Hong
Kong architects put drying rooms III the
houses, where the wearing apparel IS
| duly cooked before using for the season.
| l bag to suggest to the department that
| in books designed for this part OF the