166 Mr. S. S. Saunders's Additional 



layer of web and earth, offering but slight resistance to the touch, 

 although by no means transparent ; the side destined for the 

 hinge (as marked by the circumference being here interrupted by 

 a straight line), being on a level with the surrounding earth, 

 whereas at the opposite part, where the lid would open, the new 

 cover was lowered about one quarter of an inch. 



The danger of disturbing the occupant in this stage of the work 

 induced me to refrain from any attempt to open the new lid ; but 

 in order to ascertain whether the next layer would be added from 

 without or from within, I dropped a certain portion of flour on the 

 outside to whiten the top. The next morning, on examining the nests, 

 I found to my great surprise that the new door had been entirely 

 cut away, and was lying by the side of the tube, which in the place 

 thereof was now found covered with a strong texture of whitish 

 web. The next remained in the same state from the 26th of April 

 to the 2nd of May, when it occurred to me that the spider had 

 been compelled to discontinue its work in consequence of the 

 earth not being any longer sufficiently moist for the purpose ; and 

 had therefore had recourse to the temporary expedient of closing 

 its habitation in the way alluded to until another opportunity, 

 when, supposing the nest to be in its natural site in the open 

 ground, tlie necessary moisture should have afforded the required 

 facilities. I gave the earth therefore a good watering, without 

 however disturbing the web, allowing a slight sprinkling to fall 

 thereon as a sort of warning notice ; and the next morning on 

 visiting tlie nest I found a new door perfectly formed, which, 

 having marked with flour as above, was observed to remain un- 

 altered from the 3rd to the 13th of the month, when, considering 

 the work finished, I extracted the nest, which now presented an 

 operculum at each end, both revolving on their hinges and com- 

 plete in every respect. 



The spider, mindful of the necessity of providing a rim for the 

 support of the new valve, yet unable to regulate the process as it 

 might have done in an ordinary case, had had recourse to the 

 expedient of stretching in some degree beyond its natural dimen- 

 sions the upper part of the web with which the tube is lined, 

 making the surrounding earth give way in a like proportion. 



Some explanation is thus afforded of the singular fact noticed 

 on a previous occasion of some of the nests found at Zante being 

 provided with an operculum at bottom as well as at top, tlie lower 

 one being formed to open downwards in such a manner that it 

 was obviously of little or no use to the occupant in its then state 

 from its immovable position in the earth. The nests in question 



