1 6 The Life of a Spider 



the Phylloxera, the vine-stocks perished and 

 the once green table-land is now no more than 

 a desolate stretch where a few tufts of hardy 

 grasses sprout among the pebbles. This waste- 

 land is the Lycosa's paradise : in an hour's 

 time, if need were, I should discover a hundred 

 burrows within a limited range. 



These dwellings are pits about a foot deep, 

 perpendicular at first and then bent elbow- 

 wise. The average diameter is an inch. On 

 the edge of the hole stands a kerb, formed of 

 straw, bits and scraps of all sorts and even small 

 pebbles, the size of a hazel-nut. The whole is 

 kept in place and cemented with silk. Often, 

 the Spider confines herself to drawing together 

 the dry blades of the nearest grass, which she 

 ties down with the straps from her spinnerets, 

 without removing the blades from the stems ; 

 often, also, she rejects this scaffolding in favour 

 of a masonry constructed of small stones. The 

 nature of the kerb is decided by the nature of 

 the materials within the Lycosa's reach, in the 

 close neighbourhood of the building-yard. There 

 is no selection : everything meets with approval, 

 provided that it be near at hand. 



