BY HON. A. NORTON, M.L.C. 45 
me not long since by a young friend. The spider, a 
specimen of which is shown on the slide beside the nest, 
is a female; we have no male of this kind in the 
Museum. The male is much smaller than the female, 
and is looked upon by his mate as an unfit animal to be 
entrusted with the care of their offsprmg; so much so 
indeed, that if he approaches too nearly to the sacred 
precincts of the nest, she will attack him without mercy. 
The deep black colour of these spiders contributes to their 
protection ; but the nest is so remarkable that it seems 
almost impossible to attribute to mere instinct its wonder- 
ful mechanical contrivance. For the construction of the 
nest, the spider sinks a hole almost vertically in the 
ground. This is lined most carefully with web, through 
which no sand or dirt can fall. The orifice is covered 
with the trapdoor as closely as a shell’s mouth with a 
tight-fitting operculum. It, too, is carefully lied with 
web, the outer surface being made snug with a covering 
of fine moss. Then the trapdoor or lid is attached to 
one side of the nest by a strong hinge of web, which admits 
of the door being lifted without difficulty from within 
or without. In this carefully prepared chamber the eggs 
are deposited and guarded by the mother. Spiders are 
humble animals in appearance, but when the good lady 
is disturbed while she keeps watch over her offspring, 
the anxious expression of her eye reveals the fact that a 
fixed thought fills her mind, and that she is prepared to 
take immediate action should the occasion for doing so 
arise. Are we. then, justified in assuming that the careful 
mechanism of the nest and the fierce determination of 
the mother to protect it, are the result of instinct unaided 
by reason ? 
I will now pass on to other cases which suggest conscious 
mimicry. With our native pigeons, and I refer particu- 
larly to the peaceful little squatter (geophaps scripta), a 
disposition to hide is manifested on the approach of one 
whose presence is regarded with suspicion. It is im- 
possible not to feel that these birds try to hide, and so 
firmly do they rely upon the success of their design, that 
they will scarcely move out of the way of a _ passing 
traveller, merely squatting down behind a tuft of grass, 
