24 Mr. F. E nock's notes and ohscrvations 



type. After a long ramble and search I was fortunate 

 in finding a few tubes, which I dug up after considerable 

 trouble, for the spiders carry them under the stones in 

 old disused quarries, and then down for some depth 

 among the grass-roots, rendering digging up without 

 injury a most trying task. I examined the occupants 

 most carefully, but could not satisfy myself that they 

 were different to Afyjms piceiis ; so sent some on to the 

 Eev. 0. P. Cambridge, who kindly replied, expressing 

 his opinion that they were not Atijims BlachcaUii, but 

 agreed in every respect with his Bloxworth A. picens, as 

 well as with the specimens which I had sent to him from 

 Hampstead. Some days after I had a good day's sport, 

 and found this hitherto considered rare spider in the 

 greatest profusion, the tubes in some spots surrounding 

 every piece of loose stone ; in one instance as many as 

 fifteen large tubes around one piece of stone not more 

 than a foot square ! I also found quite a number of 

 tubes containing the beautiful hammock of eggs, in every 

 case slung up in the cavity on the upper side, never on 

 the lower, a wise provision of Nature, for the lower side 

 is the main thoroughfare, up and down which the spider 

 runs to and from the aerial portion, thus avoiding 

 treading upon the fragile hammock of eggs. Many of 

 the eggs were found just hatching, others were more 

 forward, and the young spiderlings had left their first 

 suit of baby clothes in the hammock. 



I was fortunate in finding a number of immature males 

 in their own tubes, all of which were of one character — 

 of about three-eighths of an inch diameter, seven or 

 eight inches long, and parallel from top to bottom. The 

 spiders, when turned out, were of a much lighter colour, 

 and far more active than the females. These I placed 

 in various pots, where they very soon settled down, 

 making fresh tubes amongst the moss. On Sept. Gth I 

 examined them, and found five had matured, one having 

 only just cast its skin, being quite white and weak. All 

 appeared much smaller than those found at Woking and 

 Hampstead. I sent one to Eev. 0. P. Cambridge for 

 further identification ; he replied that he was sorry to 

 say they were identical with the others, viz., Aii/piis 

 jnceus of Sulzer. The following day (Sept. 7th) I went 

 up to Hampstead, and found the largest mature male 

 1 have ever seen ; besides the largest lube of a female, 

 viz., l;j| in long from top to bottom. 



