208 SUPPLEMENT TO 



become about the size of half a walnut, and resembled 

 in its nearly semi-circular outline and size the surface 

 of the door of her own nest. I was greatly pleased 

 to be able to watch the creature at the work of exca- 

 vation, a sight which I believe no naturalist has ever 

 had before. 



The legs took no part in the digging, and tlie palpi 

 were but little used, the mandibles and their fangs 

 being the implements chiefly employed. As soon as 

 a little earth had been loosened and gathered up, the 

 spider walked up to the edge of her excavation and 

 deposited there her mouthful of particles of earth, 

 separating and working the mandibles up and down 

 in the effort to part with the pellet, which had been 

 carried between the fansrs and the mouth-oro-ans. 

 Each pellet was very small, and the operation ap- 

 peared to be excessively tedious and laljorious. I 

 had expected to see the spider scrape out large quan- 

 tities of earth at a time, and either drag it backwards 

 or kick it out behind her as a terrier does when 

 working at a rabbit-burrow ; but no, every little 

 pellet removed was carried forwards, and deposited 

 separately on the " tip." 



On the two following days, the 17th and 18th 

 November, the spider remained almost inactive, and 

 brooded over the cavity she had made, and which 

 still remained too shallow to conceal or even contain 

 ber. At 4 p.m. on the latter day I made a hole for 

 her in the earth, and, after some indecision, she took 

 possession of it. Next day, however, finding that she 

 remtiined motionless in the hole which I had made, 

 and displayed no apparent intention of either lining 



