The Van Buren press., 1903-08-22
SMALL BUT A rERRop
Tiny Insect Creates Havoc Am.
Entomolosicnl Records of N.
Government Dcpartmen,

In a neglected vault in the dsn,.
ment of agriculture was stored a.
cumulation Of records and docums,4
One OF the jaIitors was seized with
inclination to give the vault a snr,s-
airing. To his dismay, says the Va,
ington Post, Of recent date. hs a.
covered that an insect Of some desc,,s
tion had dug trenches in long, s,raiok.
rows through certain sections q, ~
records piled high in the vaults. Will.
In other sections there were caves ana
deep mines. When exposed for a sbo,,
time to the air the records crumbled ana
fell in hopeless ruin.
Here was a howdy-Go.
EntomOlogists Of the Departmental
told American housewives how to rj
their homes OF reaches and bedbus,
Farmers had been carefully coached /,
the latest methods OF destroying chipOh
bugs. Science had practically annihTa,.
ed the calico-back cabbage bug and ina
lady bug gave promise OF destroyingh.
| San Jose scale. But here within Tho
walls Of the department an insect had Al.
tackled and vanquished the musty rec.
ords which told how other pests wsrs
to be destroyed. c. S. Marlatt, widely
known TO fame as the annihilator Of IN.
nations bedbugs, was called on the in.
stant.
White ants have done It," SHOUTED
the janitor,
1T is the work of Termes flayides'
cried Mr.. favatt, reproyingly Both
were correct.
The white ant is the most destruc.
tive of all insects In the merry month
of May the mother flourishes from The
| Atlantic to the Pacific. In the more
southerly regions 1t is at its best IN
April. Houses Crumble and fall, and
their janitors know not why. 1t Is the
work of the janitor's white ant and M
Marlatt's Termes havides. "Our rec.
ords are not complete" said Mr.. Marlatt
in explanation, but we know that an
accumulation of books and papers
owned by the state Of Illinois was en-.
tirely ruined by what you have called
the white ant. A library in South Caro-.
lima, left closed for the summer, was as
completely a wreck in the fall as our
own volumes in the adjoining vault
Humboldt accounts for the rarity Of
old books In New Spain by the destruc.
tive work of these insects. The floor.
ing of one Of the sections OF the United
States national museum was for sey'
eral years annually undermined and
weakened by these insects, and the COL
ony could not be located. II was finally
necessary to replace the wooden floors
with cement"
For these important reasons, among
others, we have the learned treatise by
Mr.. Marlatt on the life, manner and Gus.
toms OF the white ants, with suggestions
as to the best manner Of outwitting
them. which even the author must con.
fess are not successful When all Other
recommendation fail the only re.
source, according to Mr. Marlatt, Is 10
replace flooring with cement and stone
The term white ant" Mr.. Marlat.
insists, Is a misromer. The white ant
Is not an ant at all, Its social habits
are much the same as those OF other
ants, but It Is allied to the dra.
gon flies and May flies. II is as.
sured us In the learned essay Of
Mr.. Marlatt that we shall always have
the white ant with us. In their swarm.
Ing, or nuptlal flight the white ants
come ont in pairs. II one OF these pairs
succeeds in finding a decayed stump or
moist unabridged dictionary before
the season Is over white ants are re-.
produced at tne rate OF co to the min.
ute or something like 10000 a day.
Race suicide is not one Of the sins Of
the ant family. White ants contriye to
get along without queen. What the
entomologlsts call supplemental
| queen, one that Is never winged and
never leaves the colony, always com.
forward to replenish the species, This
queen, we are told Is imperfectly seXed,
but In the matter OF egg laying Is a pro-
nounced success,
Having warned us Of the damage done
TO libraries. Office desks and even build
} ings, Mr., Marlatt observes that the
greatest protection against these In
sects is a perfect dryness, The pres
ence OF flying termites In the spring
should be followed by an immediate and
persistent hunt for the colony II the
colony Is found about the house, steam
or hot water should at once be literally
used, and, II necessary an entire floor
removed In order TO expose the insects
TO attack. Better than hot water or
steam Is Kerosene or some other petro'
leum oil. Where noorlngs and under
pinnlng or books and papers are badly
Infested and wholesale treatment be-
comes imperative, hydrocyanIc acid gas
ipm!ga,toE Is urged,
|
Gro, Naroicon'S Decoration,
The cross OF ST. Andrew, which the