ies that attempt to disturb the peace
of the colony."

"But I see thousands of holes; does each termite have a separate
chamber?"

"Not exactly; there is first a chamber for the queen, which is the
largest; then comes the nursery, afterwards a large compartment, in
which the working ants place the eggs which the queen lays night and
day."

"How I should like to see all this!"

Being convinced that practical illustration is better than the clearest
explanation, I again struck the nest. The workmen, who were beginning
to disappear, soon came out again to examine the spot threatened, and in
a moment after the surface of the nest appeared to be swarming. I then
kept making a noise at one point of the nest only, when the soldier ants
soon rushed out, easily recognizable by their enormous heads; finally, I
removed a small portion of the outside of the construction, and brought
to light a multitude of white specks. These were the eggs, which the
workmen hurried to carry farther into the nest. After having caused all
this disturbance, I led Lucien away, for the ground was covered with
soldier ants, and I was too well aware of the violence of their stings
to willingly expose him to them.

"But I haven't seen the queen," cried my young companion.

"She keeps quite in the centre of the building, immured in a cell which
she seldom or never leaves, for her bulk is equal to that of twenty or
thirty working ants. Sumichrast, who has been a great observer of these
insects, asserts that the queen lays about eighty thousand eggs a day.
As soon as they are hatched, the young termites are carried off into
large compartments, where they are fed until they are old enough to take
a part in the labor. During the rainy season, a certain number of white
ants are born with four wings, which enables them to proceed to a
distance and found other colonies; but these wings are only temporary,
and I have often been puzzled by finding immense quantities of them."

"How do the termites manage to build their dwellings?"

"The one we have just examined appears to be formed of earth, kneaded up
with a kind of gum which the insect secretes. In the subterranean
passages of a termite's nest there are arches which seem to be composed
of morsels of wood stuck together by some sticky matter. These insects
are omnivorous, and, like ants, take care to lay up abundant stores of
provisions."

We were now commencing to climb the mountain, and, raising my e