86 The Life of the Spider 



the bastion at the entrance, I always find her 

 at home, still full of vigour, still carrying her 

 family. This vehicular upbringing lasts five 

 or six months at least, without interruption. 

 The celebrated American carrier, the Opossum, 

 who emancipates her offspring after a few weeks' 

 carting, cuts a poor figure beside the Lycosa. 



What do the little ones eat, on the maternal 

 spine ? Nothing, so far as I know. I do not 

 see them grow larger. I find them, at the 

 tardy period of their emancipation, just as they 

 were when they left the bag. 



During the bad season, the mother herself is 

 extremely abstemious. At long intervals, she 

 accepts, in my jars, a belated Locust, whom I 

 have captured, for her benefit, in the sunnier 

 nooks. In order to keep herself in condition, as 

 when she is dug up in the course of my winter 

 excavations, she must therefore sometimes break 

 her fast and come out in search of prey, with- 

 out, of course, discarding her live mantilla. 



The expedition has its dangers. The young- 

 sters may be brushed off by a blade of grass. 

 What becomes of them when they have a fall ? 

 Does the mother give them a thought ? Does 



