ELTSHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 



141 



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On the night of the 11th at ten o'clock I found tliat the 

 spider was not alarmed by the lamp held close to the jar. For 

 two nights the jar had been in my study 

 where a lamp had been burning until late. 

 About eleven o'clock she several times 

 pushed up a sort of flap at the point 

 marked e (Fig. 2) and gathered earth from 

 a tunnel pointing toward the end of the 

 main excavation. She loosened and raked 

 together the earth with her fangs. Hug- 

 mng: the little mass asrainst rhe maxillae 

 with the same useful members, she ascended 

 the tube to the level of a rent near its 

 upper end, and with her breast against 

 the tube wall, raked her load throuo;h the 

 opening by outward movements of the 

 fangs. She sometimes came up back- 

 wards, but reversed her position before 

 discharging her burden. 



At 12 : 30 a. m. she came up to one of 

 the two rents wliich she had been using in 

 this way, ascertained its limits, crawled on 

 beyond so as to bring the spinnerets^ just 

 over it, and then closed it. This was fol- 

 lowed by considerable " plastering" up and 

 down the tube, accompanied by stretching 

 movements interpreted as intended to in- 

 crease its calibre. I have observed that 

 rents such as those spoken of above stand 

 wide open, their edsjes sliowin^; no ten- I'nvei'end round the fc 



^ ^ ^ ot jar; bb, original le 



dency to meet attain after the separatinii: '^^'i''; ^^' surtuee made by 



'' ^ r » excavated earth discharged 



force has been withdrawn. It is not 



Fig. 2. — The 8ame tube and 

 excavation as in Fig. 1 after 

 15 days, a, tube coiling at 



bottom 

 vel of 



til rough 

 threails 



rents above; 

 attacliing tube 



to 



unlikely that these stretching movements DravvifbyUie'iSe^^^^^^^^^ '''''^" 

 served to separate the silk threads composing the wall, stop- 

 ping short, however, of rendisig it. New silk added would 

 strengthen the points thus weakened, and the tube would re- 



