THE SPIDERS 161 



exceed the regular nests in number; she gently scrapes 

 and polishes and repairs them ; she listens attentively and 

 enquires by ear into each nurseling's progress. Her real 

 collection could not receive greater care. Her own fam- 

 ily or another's : it is all one to her. 



The Lycosa is equally indifferent. I take a hair-pencil 

 and sweep the living burden from one of my Spiders, 

 making it fall close to another covered with her little 

 ones. The evicted youngsters scamper about, find the 

 new mother's legs outspread, nimbly clamber up these 

 and mount on the back of the obliging creature, who 

 quietly lets them have their way. They slip in among 

 the others, or, when the layer is too thick, push to the 

 front and pass from the abdomen to the thorax and even 

 to the head, though leaving the region of the eyes uncov- 

 ered. It does not do to blind the bearer: the common 

 safety demands that. They know this and respect the 

 lenses of the eyes, however populous the assembly be. 

 The whole animal is now covered with a swarming carpet 

 of young, all except the legs, which must preserve their 

 freedom of action, and the under part of the body, where 

 contact with the ground is to be feared. 



My pencil forces a third family upon the already over- 

 burdened Spider; and this too is peacefully accepted. 

 The youngsters huddle up closer, lie one on top of the 

 other in layers and room is found for all. The Lycosa 

 has lost the last semblance of an animal, has become a 

 nameless bristling thing that walks about. Falls are fre- 

 quent and are followed by continual climbings. 



I perceive that I have reached the limits, not of the 



