34 JOURNAL OF THE 



been described in the articles referred to. One thinc^, how- 

 ever, in regard to P. canibivorus is worth adding. The last 

 trap-door made by this species as described on p. 20 was in 

 sharp contrast, being made almost entirely of clay, with the 

 surrounding moss. In a k\w days the spider made an exam- 

 ination of its work and found it had made a mistake in not 

 placing moss in the door. It reiTiedied this as well as pos- 

 sible by cementing moss to the edge of the door and press- 

 ing the ends down so that about half of the door was covered 

 with moss ! 



NeM of FacJiylomeTUf^ turns. March 5, 'S6, on turning 

 over an old log, a sudden movement of an object downward 

 attracted my attention, I looked and discovered a silken 

 tube, with particles of earth and leaf mould attached extend- 

 ing above ground. On one side the silk was so extremely 

 thin as to afford a "window" to the spider's house ! It was 

 through this that I had discovered the movement which at- 

 tracted my attention. Nearly the entire remaining portion 

 of the tube was covered with earth and leaf-mould, and here 

 the silk was thinner than in other portions, yet intact. It 

 seems almost incredible, yet from the wonderful intelligence 

 manifested by these spiders, I was led to think this ''window" 

 had been purposely made : that the spider would sit by it 

 and watch for beetles crawling about under the log, and see- 

 ing one would rush out through the door, seize its prey and 

 return to its tower ! It seems more reasonable when we 

 consider that Nidivalvafd inarxn (see food habits of this 

 species,) will nightly open its doors, remain out of sight, 

 watch for passing insects, and rush out and seize them. The 

 tube was about 8cm. in length, and there was only a very 

 shallow excavation in the clay soil. The door is of the 

 "wafer type," and was fastened down by silk, probably in 

 the fall when the spider prepared for hibernating.' 



In the evening I placed the spider in a bottle of earth. 

 During the night it burrowed into the soil and made a rude 

 door, which appeared more like a flap hung from one side 

 of the mouth of the tube. On the evening of Mar. 7, I re- 



'Mr Mog^ridge says in Harvest Ants and Trao-door Spiders, Supple- 

 ment, p. 286 : *I have on very few occasions, found the doors of a 

 wafer or cork nest.spun up during the winter at Mentone, and on dig- 

 ging have discovered the spider alive, though partially torpid, inside ; 

 but this I think is quite an exceptional event. I should like to know 

 however, whether this becomes the rule in the case of the nests of those 



