i 5 z THE WALKS ABROAD OF 



attached to it some strong threads, by means of which 

 the spider, holding on to the sides and the lid, at the 

 same time lock and lock-maker, keeps its house safely 

 shut up, and without having any fear of losing the 

 door-key. 



"But of all the spiders, the most extraordinary is 

 perhaps the Argyroneta, which has the excessively 



ABGYRONETA AND ITS AQUATIC liALLOON. 



odd peculiarity of contructing its house under the 

 water. 



" It is perhaps even more curious that this water- 

 spider does not possess any special organs, that would 

 enable it to breathe and live at large in the midst of 

 the liquid element ; the Argyroneta, in fact, breathes 

 air like other spiders. When it is on the point of 

 establishing a home, it begins by choosing a leaf at 



