114 T^^^ ^if^ of the Spider 



On a subject of this kind, we can consult 

 the Spider of the waste-lands. I catch an old 

 Lycosa in the fields and house her, that same 

 day, under wire, in a burrow where I have pre- 

 pared a soil to her liking. If, by my contriv- 

 ances and with a bit of reed, I have previously 

 moulded a burrow roughly representing the one 

 from which I took her, the Spider enters it forth- 

 with and seems pleased with her new residence. 

 The product of my art is accepted as her lawful 

 property and undergoes hardly any alterations. 

 In course of time, a bastion is erected around 

 the orifice ; the top of the gallery is cemented 

 with silk ; and that is all. In this establish- 

 ment of my building, the animal's behaviour 

 remains what it would be under natural 

 conditions. 



But place the Lycosa on the surface of the 

 ground, without first shaping a burrow. What 

 will the homeless Spider do ? Dig herself a 

 dwelling, one would think. She has the 

 strength to do so ; she is in the prime of life. 

 Besides, the soil is similar to that whence I 

 ousted her and suits the operation perfectly. 

 We therefore expect to see the Spider settled 



