life-history of Atyjms piceus. 417 



1st, 1885, and found very few of the nests left, some of 

 their favourite hillocks having been levelled by " The 

 Jioard." 



On March I'ith, 1879, Mr. Cochrane, the obliging 

 Superintendent of Finsbury Park, who had become 

 much interested in my diggings, very kindly brought 

 his pony-tra]) round to the colony, and with the help of 

 two or three of his men cut off a prominent piece of the 

 banlv about eighteen inches square, containing several 

 tubes of females, which I should judge were at least three 

 years old. This huge lump was safely placed in a large 

 tea-chest, and landed in my garden at Holloway, where 

 for about a year the three or four spiders seemed to do 

 pretty well ; but, what with cats and smoke, they did 

 not flourish as I had hoped. 



On June 1st, 1882, i turned the contents out of the 

 tea-chest, and in demolishing the earth I found one of 

 the nests all right, the female well and savage. But in 

 the confusion of removing to Woking she was damaged, 

 and died in a few days. 1 think I shall be within limits 

 in putting the age of this spider at six years ! 



Many of the tubes from the Woking colony transferred 

 to my garden-bank A})ril 12tli, 1888, were very large 

 ones, and evidently of good age, some of the tubes quite 

 green with moss ; all the spiders are at the present time 

 in good health and spirits, and I have become so attached 

 to them that I shall feel leaving them as much as any- 

 thing. 1 hope to move them, though 1 fear that after 

 living so long and drawing their supplies from my 

 garden-bank they will not care to settle in a flower-pot. 



I should imagine Atypus was about four years in 

 reaching maturity, then eighteen months is taken up 

 before the young are turned out, and how long the 

 female lives after that time I have yet to learn. I have 

 one still alive and savage which turned her family out 

 March KJth, 1884, and, judging from the vigour with 

 which she grasps a fly or my linger when teased, I can 

 safely say her teeth are not failing. 



I imagine many females live and die "old maids," 

 though not before reaching a good age ; and, comparing 

 their nests with those of younger ones, 1 fancy not far 

 short of leu years ! 



There is one point mentioned in Mr. Brown's* account 



* Notes on Atypus Sulzeri, ' Zoologist,' vol. xiv. (185Uj, p. 5021. 



