The romance of animal arts and crafts : being an interesting account of the spinning, weaving, sewing manufacture of paper and pottery, ae˜ronautics, raft-building, road-making, and various other industries of wild life

Front matter

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Introduction

IN the pleasant days when we have not long begun to look on a wonderful world peopled with beings great and small all living their busy lives after their own fashion, most of us are in some respects nearer to understanding the ways of the myriad creatures which share the earth with us than we have ever the good fortune to be in later years. Before a sparrow becomes for us “only” a sparrow, or we have been taught to associate the word “horrid” with a score of interesting and often beautiful little animals which we meet day by day, the things that happen in animal-land are not passed over with unseeing eyes ; the earth is filled with romance, and we live in a true fairyland. From a few fortunate ones the spell is never lifted ; for them its fascination grows stronger with time, and the story becomes constantly more engrossing, for it is one whose secret, though ever unfolding, can never be wholly revealed.

At first, more especially, it is our constant joy to recognize everywhere in the animal world resemblances to man ; and each of us reads the doings of its inhabitants according to his own fancy. We may do this and yet keep within the bounds of truth ; it is when we cease to read honestly in the book of Nature, and begin to pick out a part of a sentence here and a part there, and piece them together to make something quite different, that we do wrong. So long as we try to see just what is taking place, we may yet permit ourselves to be reminded of similarities between the doings of animals and our own ; but we must be careful not to attribute human motives and reason where they have no existence. That some animals can reason in what seems a very human way is beyond doubt ; but the very cleverest of them has not advanced as far as the first savage who sharpened a stick to dig with or to use as a weapon. On the other hand, animals are born with the skill to do the things which are necessary for their existence, while man is born with nothing more than a greater or less capacity for learning. If we would spin or weave, we must learn to do

INTRODUCTION these things by long apprenticeship; but the first web made by a baby spider may be as perfect as any it will spin in the whole of its life. This unconscious memory of how to do things and how to act under various conditions, passed on from one generation to another, is what we mean by “instinct,” and instinct is a wonderful thing. There are times when it is not to be distinguished in its effects from reason, as when it con¬ stantly adapts itself to new conditions : something of the kind we see in the way ants behave when building their chambers and galleries, turning every favourable circumstance to ad¬ vantage and overcoming many unaccustomed difficulties which arise in the course of their work. At other times instinct appears utterly at fault, as in the case of a certain woodpecker whose habit it is to embed acorns singly in little holes which it cuts in the bark of a tree to receive them, but which often expends its labour to no purpose by storing up smooth pebbles in the same manner. Yet even in their mistakes animals do but present one more resemblance to man, and if they had the gift of imagination, no doubt they would oftener go astray — and the likeness would be still greater.

In an attempt at classifying animal activities under familiar titles, the arrangement must necessarily be in many ways an artificial one. In their delving, their spinning, their weaving, their paper-making, their sewing, and many of their other occupations, however, animals foreshadow our own industries and arts and crafts clearly enough ; the resemblance of the results is obvious, though the motives in the two cases are often widely different. Nearly all the constructive activities of animals are directed towards self-preservation, or procuring food or shelter for themselves or their offspring ; their fancy seldom leads them further, but the methods by which they attain their ends are of a wonderful variety — a variety infinitely greater, even within the bounds of our limited knowledge, than it would be possible to describe in one small volume. Yet should such instances as we have chosen help to show how much that is interesting sur¬ rounds us wherever we go, if we only care to see it ; should they aid even in a small degree towards a greater love of animals and a desire to observe and understand their ways, The Romance of Animal Arts and Crafts may add a little to the romance wherein lies much of the happiness of life.

JOHN LEA.

CHAPTER I THE MASTER CRAFTSMEN page

A persecuted race — “Underground weavers” — Our native repre¬ sentative — A doubtful tug-of-war — An awkward doorway — The trap-door spider’s biographer — The choice of a home — The secret door — A vagrant husband — Dangerous courtship — How spiders dig — A careful workman — A pitiless enemy — The tapestry frame — A spider’s door-handle — The importance of a well-fitting* door — Eggs within eggs — Strenuous resistance — The family at home — A living bolt — Trapping by night — An unexpected encounter — The capture — An unfortunate shot — The inner door — An in¬ genious dwelling — An invasion — The secret chamber — Infant phenomena — Tree-dwellers — A versatile family . . . 17

Chapter II Excavators And Miners Mammals

A national industry — Notable diggers — A neglected genius — The varnished tale — Too clever by half — An underground fortress — How it is made — A strange nest — The bolt run — Accident or in¬ tention? — Building on the ruins — The fox’s home — Unscrupulous strategy — Arctic foxes — Frozen meat — The badger’s den — A re¬ tiring disposition — The hamster’s dwelling — Living-room and store-room — A tell-tale landmark — Entrance and exit — Well-filled granaries — Harvesting — Emergency doors — Early independence — Pocket-gophers — A rare distinction — Convenient locomotion — Filling the pockets — and emptying them — An interesting scene — Pariah dogs — Slinking* through life — The fascinating fennec — Prairie -marmots — “Dog-town” — An animal Utopia — Winter sleep — Sounding the alarm — Animal gossip — Marmots — Summer and winter quarters — Laying in supplies — A picturesque fiction —

Our old familiar friend . . . ... 32

Chapter III Excavators And Miners Other Animals

Bird excavators — Sand martins — Delicate labourers — Prodigious industry — The kingfisher — A nest of bones — Tortuous burrows — An unmistakable dwelling — A dying race — Larks and their

PAGE

nests — Ostriches and their relations — Kiwis — “Sniffing-” for worms — A remarkable egg — Tortoises — Strange use for a tail — Depositing the eggs — Interesting behaviour — “Robber-crabs”

— A Munchausen-like story — Crab and cocoa-nut — The under¬ ground bed— Ghoulish habits — Fiddler-crabs — Laughable antics — Swift land-crabs — Warning to trespassers — A mile of crabs — Floods caused by cray-fish — Tarantulas — A well-planned den —

The spider’s tower — Spider-eating sheep — A brooding spider . 55

Chapter IV Makers Of Basket-work

Stability of birds’ nests — Variety of architecture — The typical nest — Goldfinch and chaffinch — A beautiful tissue — Outside decora¬ tions — Crossbills — The birds at work — Choice of material —

More solid structures — A warm-blooded race — The perfect in¬ cubator — A nest made of lichens — Homes over the water — Slender foundations — Nature’s cement — A beautiful cradle — Homes on the water — Concealing the eggs — Floating nests — A damp bed — Building enthusiasts — “Invisible” nests — Birds of prey — Aeries — The lordly eagle — Notice of tenancy — Piracy on the high trees — An interesting faggot — The honey-buzzard’s screen — The type of parental devotion — Protection and rubbish — Apes and their beds — A lofty platform — Family parties — Paul Du Chaillu’s strange story — A leafy canopy — The orang¬ outang’s couch — Our ignorance concerning gorillas . . 70

Chapter V Architects Of Spherical Dwellings

The advantage of spherical architecture — The astute sparrow — An evil reputation — Magpie fortifications — False pretences — The wren’s many houses — A tiresome partner — Catholic tastes —

The squirrel’s “drey” — Changing quarters — A Lilliputian genius — Sticklebacks’ nests — “Jack-sharps” and “tinkers” — Homeric combats — Making a home — Wedding finery — Bringing home the partner — A careful father — Fierce battles . • • 93

Chapter VI Makers Of Mounds Ants

Ant-hills — The ant’s adaptability — Rival builders — The roof of the nest — Doorways — Life in the open — Wood ants compared with other species — Closing the doors at night — On guard — Early morning scene — Keeping out the rain — How a nest is made —

How to watch ants at work — Formation of halls — The living-room — Earth nests of the mason ants — Methods of the black ants — Home of the brown ant — Columns, walls, and buttresses

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— Streets and crossings — Range of nurseries — Studying the weather — Night work — Working in the rain — Laying out a new story — Building walls — Vaulted chambers — Putting in the ceil¬ ings — Taking advantage of the rain — A successful ruse — Black ants — Marking out a new story — An industrious labourer — Road¬ making — An error of judgment — Advantages seized — Indepen¬ dent labour — Nature’s implements — Robbers’ caves . . 104

Chapter VII Makers Of Mounds Birds

Flamingoes — Hillock nests — A quaint narrative — Stalking flamin¬ goes — An old story disproved — An albatros “rookery” — Albatros-nesting — The mallee-bird — Preparing the incubator — An immense mound — Burying the eggs — The Australian mound-bird — Nests upon which trees sometimes grow — A nest of iron¬ stone — Digging for eggs . . . . . 124

Chapter VIII Masons

Architectural ingenuity — Mud houses — Dauber wasps — Catholic tastes — Warm corners — Dauber’s daintiness — The builder at work — Laying in provisions — Ingenious cruelty — A spider bomb — Working by rote — A fruitless task — Building improvements — Mason bees and rough-cast — A natural cement — Collecting materials — Building stones — Cake-making — Roofing in — Re¬ storing old buildings — Cupolas — The keystone — Clusters of nests — Plasterers — Sheltered sites — Keeping out trespassers —

A stout wall — Born in the midst of plenty — Odynerus — A firm foundation — Softening the ground — Excavations — A Lilliputian leaning tower — Filigree walls — An invader discouraged — Fur¬ nishing the larder — A stack of bricks — Bee hodmen — Porches and sentinels . . . . . . 134

Chapter IX More Masons

Universal favourites — Chimney swallows — A peculiar taste — A safe spot — Building materials — House martins — Firm foundations —

“In the weather on the outward wall” — A piteous sight — Australian relatives — Bottle nests — Working in gangs — The oven-bird’s home — “Johnny Clay” — A reputation for piety — A well-built house — Singing duets — A burial — The Syrian nuthatch — Love of building — Hornbills — A willing prisoner — Feeding the prisoners — Storming the prison — A miserable object — Amphibians — The family genius — Frogs building walls . .152

Chapter X Engineers Of Roads And Tunnels

Ants as engineers — Tunnels and secrecy — Slave-raiders — Length of tunnels — Highways — Advantage of roads for foraging — Economy of labour — Roads adapted to the country — Clearing the track — Covered ways — Visiting the cow-sheds — Stupendous feats — The ants’ pavilions — Spacious prisons — An ant ‘com¬ pound ’ — Prison-breaking — Resourceful ingenuity — Tortoise roads — Road-building by birds — A mossy path

Chapter XI Carpenter9

Sound wood seldom attacked — Woodpeckers — The mistakes of an expert — A neat workman — Macaws at home — The parrot’s siesta — Insect carpenters — A distinguished foreigner — A tre¬ mendous undertaking — Putting in the floors — Arrangements for escape — British carpenter bees — An insect’s glue-pot — Destruc¬ tive beetles — “Death-watches” — ‘Worm-eaten’ wood — Forests destroyed — A scented dandy — A famous veteran — Tailed- wasps — Two-edged fret-saws — Unexpected guests — Carpenter ants — A dwelling of many stories — Interesting architecture — A sombre dwelling — Disposing of the evidence — Gangs of workers — Termites — Carpentry extraordinary — Deceptive appearances — Ichneumon-wasps — The gardener’s friend — More deceptive ap¬ pearances — Remarkable divination — A delicate instrument — The common gribble — Life on a whale’s back — The ship-worm

Chapter XII Trappers

An uncommon craft — Ant-lions — A deadly pitfall — Bombarding the victim — Original methods — Peculiar manoeuvres — Sisyphus and the stone — The worm-lion’s methods — A ferocious infant .

Chapter XIII Harvesters, &c

Ants in fable and history — A well-founded reputation — Agricultural ants — Making a clearing — Highways and avenues — Gathering the harvest — Ants’ granaries — Care of the grain — Malting — Rob¬ bery by force of arms — A woodpecker’s store-rooms — Another method of laying up supplies — An unreasoning habit — Mushroom growers — Parasol ants — A remarkable spectacle — Cutting the leaves — Engineer and naturalist — Ants’ “mushroom beds” — Laying down a bed — Slips and cuttings — Honey ants — “ Honey from the weed ” — Within the gates — The honey-rooms — Living honey-pots . . . . .

PAGE

Chapter XIV Hut Builders Page

Beavers in England — A fatal garment — Engineering on a grand scale — How the beaver became a builder — What a ‘ lodge ’ is like — Varieties of lodges — How a lodge is enlarged — ‘ Musk-rat houses’ — “Contrived a double debt to pay” — “The beaver’s little brother” — Brush-tailed rat-kangaroos — Building a grass hut — A grotesque and amusing spectacle — The wily black man — The hammer-head’s hut — An elaborate dwelling — Quaint be¬ haviour . . . . . . . 218

Chapter XV Silk-spinners

SPINNERS OF NETS

The versatile spider again — A delicate rope— What a spider can do with its thread — A spider’s hunting — The development of the snare — A telegraphic system — Eyes and no eyes — Beauty of a common web — How a garden spider works — A line thrown at a venture — A slender bridge — The framework completed — Putting in the cross lines — Testing the lines — Temporary scaffolding —

A rapid worker — How insects are caught — The spider’s biogra¬ pher — An exaggerated view — The lurking-place — Alarm and agitation — A living whirligig — Competition and strategy — Re¬ markable mechanics — The house spider’s den — Spider versus horseman — Bird-eating spiders — Trapping with a snap-net — A rope in reserve — In the toils — Why spiders rest head downwards — Falling a fine art — Scaling ladders — Co-operation and com¬ munities — A common hunting-ground — Immense nets — A nest as large as a hat — Giant and dwarf . ... 225

Chapter XVI Silk-spinners Aeronauts And Divers

Spiders ‘skylarking’ — The pleasures of ballooning — Long journeys — Thirsty travellers — Restless beings — An unsolved problem — Various theories — An island prison — A possible explanation — A-tiptoe with expectation — Why the spider's aeroplane rises — What gossamer is — A “ flying ” spider — The diving-bell — A fairy dwelling — Clothed in air — Weaving the diving-bell — Filling the bell with air — A strange nursery — Sea spiders — A canoe-spider — Rowing himself ashore . . ... 242

Chapter XVII Raft Builders

An interesting encounter — A spider buccaneer — Hunting from a raft — A redoubtable pursuer — Fishes’ rafts — Wedding attire — Blowing bubbles — An inverted nest — Retrieving the eggs — A watchful parent — The rainbow-fish — A coat of many colours — Floating the raft — Making a dome — Sinking the nest — Another careful father — The violet sea-snail — Building with air . . 252

CHAPTER XVIII POTTERS page

Pelopceus — A gay little workman — Carafes and jars — Glazed ware —

Economical methods — The vases of Eumenes . . . 259

Chapter XIX Paper-makers

Wasps as paper-makers — Varieties of wasp-paper — Sizing — Making the pulp — Architecture of a wasp’s nest — An air-jacket — Found¬ ing a colony — Mother and queen — Defending the home — Nests of Polybia — A fortified dwelling — Variety of Polybian archi¬ tecture — Fine pasteboard — A beautiful product — Termites as paper-makers — Tree-dwellers — A stupendous structure — The destructiveness of termites . . ... 264

Chapter XX Weavers, Sempsters, And Workers In Cotton

Weaver-birds — Variety of nests — A stocking-nest — The golden weaver-bird — Elaborate structures — A lively 6cene — An Indian weaver — Social habits — Division of labour — The baya’s firefly lantern — Ballast — A native legend — The Baltimore oriole — The influence of climate — Cassiques — A tough material — Spider-catchers — A nest sewn to a leaf — The tailor-bird9 — Making bags — Different kinds of thread — Neat and clumsy sewing — How the stitches are put in — Another tailor-made nest — A neglected industry — Disadvantages of vegetable down — Ideal nests — Dyed eggs — Cotton-wool nests — Young birds glued to their cradle . 274

Chapter XXI Clothiers

The hairless caterpillars — A delicate race — Self-preservation — The clothes-moths family — The importance of clothing — “ Robbing Peter to clothe Paul ” — Style of garments — A leafy robe — Careful feeding — An interesting experiment — A disconcerted caterpillar — Making the best of it — Cutting out a new garment — Making the seams — Silken linings — A curious pattern — Furbelows — A modern “ Psyche” — Inhabitants of a pear tree — Robes of silk — Doublet and cape — Elaborate materials — The housewife’s pest —

An elusive intruder — Silk and shoddy — Lengthening a garment — Volte face — ‘ Letting out ’ a garment — Motley — Colour prefer¬ ences — The white-robed infant — Going into retreat — Caddis-cases — Coat of mail — The strangest garment of all — Eviction without violence — Fancy dress — How to secure a perfect fit — Careful adjustments — Strictly utilitarian — Barricades — ‘House¬ builder ’ moths — A complete outfit — Disguises — A living fleece — Accident or intention? — A popular material — Trof de zkle — In¬ stinct at fault ? — Dorippe ana Dromia — Compulsory patriotism — The result of habit — Sea-urchins and their clothing — An un¬ appreciated race — Timid beauties — Uncommon methods — A waterproof garment . . . ... 287

CHAPTER XXII ROCK AND STONE BORERS page

An arduous task — The piddock — An old problem in a new form — A natural file — Ways of boring — “ Dogged does it” — The use of the file — Interesting evidence — Each for himself — Habits of lim¬ pets — More cave-dwellers . . . . . 311

Chapter XXIII ‘cigar’ Manufacturers

Superficial resemblances — Weevils — A brilliant family — Arm-chair observations — Preparing the leaf — A skilful operation — Subse¬ quent proceedings — Tireless efforts — Sealing the edge — A mother’s forethought — A lazy partner — Vine weevils — Other methods — Leaf-rolling caterpillars — More arm-chair observa¬ tions — How it is done — Applied mechanics — A simple model —

Food and shelter — A serious pest — Leaf-folders . . .316

Chapter XXIV Workers In Secretory And Excretory Products

Nature’s cement — “Edible swifts” — Birds’-nest soup — A weird company — Laying the foundations — Birds’-nesting in Java — Deceptive architecture — An inadequate cradle — Nest-building shrimps — Praying insects — A saintly appearance — The sooth¬ sayer — A wolf in sheep’s clothing — The soothsayer’s true character — A deadly weapon — Coming to grips — The perils of courtship — An elaborate egg-case — Arts of peace — The mother cockroach’s little bag — Nature’s economy — Beetle hunting — The initiation — An unattractive covert — A busy scene — Fighting with prejudice — The sacred scarab — Shovel and rake — How the scarab lost his feet — Important news — Hastening to the feast — “The immortal Fabre” — The beetle’s callipers — Shaping the ball — Feverish activity — The journey — The beetle’s ‘mate’ — Highwayman and diplomat — Fighting for the spoils — Lending a hand — Travelling extraordinary — A perplexing situation — Ways and means — Calling a halt — Preparing the banqueting-hall — An unscrupulous guest — A Gargantuan feast — The scarab’s nursery — A chip of the old block . ... 329

IS

I

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Brush-tailed Rat-kangaroos building

a Nest

PAGE

Frontispiece

Trap-door Spiders

.

3°

Pocket-gophers

Prairie-marmots

Robber-crabs .

Falcon’s and Magpie’s Nests

Chimpanzees at Home .

Squirrels and their ‘Drey’

Harvest Mice .

Sticklebacks .

Ants’ Nest

1 10

Albatros-nesting

Mallee-bird's Mound .

Australian Megapode’s Mound

Hornbills building a Wall

Tree-frogs’ Nests

Ants’ Roads

Ants’ “Cow-sheds”

Spiders’ Webs .

Water Spiders and ‘ Caddis-worms ’

Honey- wasps’ Nest

Weaver-birds .

Tailor-birds

Leap-roller Caterpillar

Javanese Birds’-nesting

Praying Mantis

THE ROMANCE OF ANIMAL ARTS 6* CRAFTS

Chapter I The Master Craftsmen

A persecuted race — “ Underground weavers” — Our native representative — A doubtful tug-of-war — An awkward doorway — The trap-door spider’s biographer— The choice of a home — The secret door — A vagrant husband — Dangerous courtship — How spiders dig — A careful workman — A pitiless enemy — The tapestry frame — A spider’s door¬ handle — The importance of a well-fitting door — Eggs within eggs — Strenuous resistance — The family at home — A living bolt — Trapping by night — An unexpected encounter — The capture — An unfortunate shot— The inner door — An ingenious dwelling — An invasion — The secret chamber — Infant phenomena — Tree - dwellers — A versatile family.

A MONGST works so various as those we find in the wide ZA range of nature it is not easy to award the palm ;

some animals excel in one industry, some in another, and we cannot say with certainty to which class the pride of place belongs. There is, however, one chapter in the tale of animal arts and crafts which is so wonderful that anybody who does not realize the almost unlimited pos¬ sibilities of nature might well think it the result of an unusually lively imagination and regard it as pure romance. Yet this strange story is true in every detail, and some of b 17

A PERSECUTED RACE the facts related in it are familiar everyday knowledge to thousands of people, while all of them are well authenticated. It is the story of the trap-door spiders, which are not only the cleverest representatives of a talented race, but occupy an important position in the very front rank of Nature’s engineers, architects, inventors, and craftsmen.

Spiders of all sorts have many enemies which possess enormous advantages over them in respect of either strength or agility, or both combined : enemies with wings, swift in movement and able to retreat where their opponent cannot follow them ; enemies with stings deadly as the terrible urari-poisoned arrow, watchful, merciless, quick to attack ; enemies clad in an impenetrable coat of mail, against which the spider’s weapons are powerless, whilst the spider’s own body is soft and vulnerable. But the spiders are themselves hunters and trappers, expert as any, and the exigencies of their existence make it necessary for them to capture prey which has many physical advantages on its side.

These difficulties and dangers have been met by a multi¬ tude of clever contrivances, and if invention and skill are to be regarded as some sort of index of intellectual develop¬ ment, it is a little startling to realize how far the spiders are in advance of our near relations, the man-like apes.

The family of spiders is, we have good reason to believe, a very ancient one ; it is spread far and wide over the earth, and it is not surprising to find that, with some fundamental characters in common, various branches of the family have developed special activities, and that some excel in one direction and some in another. What is truly astonishing is the skill they exhibit in solving difficult problems, and the highly complex character of their undertakings.

Amongst them all, none are more intensely interesting than the trap-door spiders, which belong to the tribe known

OUR NATIVE REPRESENTATIVE as Territelarice , or “underground weavers.” In England we have no trap-door-making spiders, but the tribe is repre¬ sented by one species which works in the same way as its more talented relatives up to a certain point, though it has not hit upon the idea of fitting a door to its dwelling. This spider, called Atypus Sulzeri , was, I believe, first found in the neighbourhood of London and Exeter. You are not likely to meet with it very often, but perhaps it is commoner than it is generally supposed to be, for its house is not as a rule a conspicuous object in the landscape, and the number of people who go out of their way to make friends of spiders is not large ; on the contrary, most people go out of their way to avoid them, and thereby are the losers — at least, that must be the opinion of everybody who has the privilege of being even moderately well acquainted with these delight¬ ful and learned creatures.

Atypus Sulzeri is an unobtrusive little spider that usually makes its home in banks where the earth is moist, digging a subterranean gallery which starts almost horizontally, but curves downwards a little towards the inner end. In this tunnel it spins a compact tube of whitish silk, about half an inch in diameter, which completely lines the cavity. The tube does not stop short at the mouth of the burrow, but is continued for several inches over the surface of the ground. It is sometimes described as being closed at both ends, and sometimes as having the external end left open. I have only once, and that many years ago, come upon a nest of this spider, which I found in a damp hedge-bank in Hamp-. shire, not very far from Selborne.1 There was a rent or slit in the top of the tube near the free end, but as the spider was “ not at home ” it would be unsafe to draw any conclu¬ sions from that one single instance. Perhaps the owner had

AN AWKWARD DOORWAY

for some reason decided to have a new dwelling and, not having a doorway, had been obliged to make a hole in the wall in order to walk out of the old one ; at all events the hole was there. Atypus is said to feed on insects that alight on the outside of the tube, approaching cautiously, and invisible all the while, along the inside until directly underneath the intended victim, which is then seized through the wall : a hole is torn in the web, the prey is dragged in¬ side, and the rent repaired by the spider, who retires under¬ ground to devour her captive at leisure. It has also been stated that this spider eats earth-worms, which are intro¬ duced into the den through the inner portion of the tube ; but any one who has observed the swiftness with which a worm retreats into its burrow when alarmed, or the very effective resistance it offers to forcible removal, will have difficulty in believing that a weak -limbed spider could ever succeed in getting the better of one in a tug-of-war.

Our British Territelarian, then, excavates a dwelling and covers the walls with silken tapestry, which is continued through the doorway into the open air in the form of a long, narrow bag. Every time the inhabitant wishes to walk abroad, or has occasion to take in supplies, she is obliged to cut a hole in the bag and repair it again afterwards — an arrangement which does not strike one as being very con¬ venient, though it is certainly effective from one point of view, for it makes it quite impossible for undesirable visitors, such as wasps and ichneumon-flies, to gain admission to the habitation. The true trap-door spiders attain the same end in a far more ingenious manner, as we shall see. They inhabit warm countries all round the globe, and are espe¬ cially plentiful in Jamaica. In Europe they are found on the shores^of the Mediterranean, where they were studied by their famous biographer, Mr. Moggridge, who devoted the leisure

THE CHOICE OF A HOME of an invalid life to observing their ways and recording their doings, and then wrote a beautiful book about them.

Like our Atypus , the true trap-door spiders dig a deep hole in the ground and line it with silk to prevent the sides from falling in, but they add a neat little door to keep out the rain and other troublesome things. The burrow is usually placed in a sloping bank, or in an old, crumbling terrace wall, where there are mosses and lichens growing in patches, or creeping plants trailing over the ground. The door, built of layers of silk, strengthened and solidified with particles of soil, is round, and has a strong silken hinge at one side. When situated on sloping ground, the hinge is attached to the edge of the door at the highest point, so that the door has a tendency to “ swing to ” by its own weight after being opened, the closing being also assisted by the elastic nature of the hinge. Now you may suppose these round, silken doors dotted over the dark earth are almost as conspicuous as silver coins lying upon the ground, and make the discovery of the spiders’ home a very easy matter. In that case you underestimate the genius of the little creature, which would never permit her to advertise her presence in such a reckless manner. Instead of doing so, she disguises or conceals the entrance to her home with admirable art by planting moss on the outside of the door — living moss taken from the immediate neighbourhood — so that the top of the nest harmonizes perfectly with its surroundings and is often exceedingly difficult to detect, its discovery being in many cases made more difficult by the fact that in her careful choice of a site for her dwelling the , spider appears to be influenced by the presence of patches of white lichen which distract the eye. Some species adopt a different method, weaving into the structure, or fastening on with silk, dead leaves, bits of stick, grasses or