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408 at all times. In the worst 'fly-time' nobody ventures to ride about without wearing a veil; and men have taxed their ingenuity to keep the pests out of their houses, but practically without success.

"Fleas are also abundant, though not as much so as flies; neither are they seen as much in public. They abound most in sandy places, and the sundowners transport them from one station to another free of charge. A more welcome insect is the common honey-bee; it has long been acclimatized in Australia, and owing to the great number of honey-bearing flowers, it has become very abundant. Bee-farming is an important industry in New South Wales, and is carried on to quite an extent in the other colonies.

"They tell us that in the north of Queensland white ants are very destructive, as they eat nearly every textile fabric, and have a voracious appetite for all kinds of wood. They have even been charged with devouring window-glass, iron bars, and similar substances usually considered inedible. I heard a man say with the utmost gravity that they had eaten up two cross-cut saws and a boxful of American axes, handles and all; but I don't believe it, and I doubt his veracity in several other statements he made, and therefore won't repeat them."

One day while the youths were strolling in the bush not far from the station, they were startled by the sound of immoderate laughter that seemed to come from among the limbs of a low tree. The sound was repeated after a short interval, and, curious to know the cause, they