Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1893 — MOLASSES SAVES THE HOUSE. [ARTICLE]

MOLASSES SAVES THE HOUSE.

-r» How the Natives of Mauritius Destroy White Ants. The black and white ants of the East are deadly enemies, and their enmity saves many houses from ruin before the ravages of the destructive white species. The white ants, sometimes called termites, are a terrible pest. They live largely on wood. They have big heads and strong jaws, well fitted for gnawing. They will begin at the root of a great tree and gnaw their way up through the trunk and through the large branches until it becomes a hollow shell and falls. Often colonies of these ants burrow under a house and gnaw up into the timbers. In Mauritus,when a company of these white ants settle themselves under a house to gnaw it down, the owner pours some treacle or molasses on the ground near the road by which the ants pass to and fro between the home ant hill and the house. The smell of the treacle soon attracts black' ants, all of which are extravagantly fond of sweets, and these immediately notice the white ants passing back and forth. One or two of the black ants at once leave the treacle and disappear. These are messengers. Later in the day a whole army of black ants will appear, marching m a column many yards long. They march in under the infested house, and destroy every white ant in the building. After a while the army comes marching out, and each black ant carries a white ant with it. And thus is the house saved.