THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 125 



the production of fermentation and of nitrification of decom- 

 posing animal matter as instances of the usefulness of the micro- 

 fungi. 



The author had for some years been engaged in making 

 careful observations of Victorian fungi, and considered that 

 enough attention has not been paid to the great economic 

 importance of this group of our plants. 



THE DARLING DOWNS. 



By J. A. H. 



I. A Few Spiders. — They swarm, they spin, they crawl 

 everywhere Going over a nursery garden with the proprietor 

 one day, every few steps he took he broke down a web and 

 trod on a spider. " They must go !" he said. " They make 

 such havoc of my Italian bees." 



But in the house it is easier said than done. Here the worst 

 intruder is a daddy-long-legs sort of creature which rocks 

 itself to and fro in a mysterious fashion. I have seen the 

 corners thoroughly cleared of cobwebs, but a few minutes 

 after these skeleton spiders were observed calmly walking up 

 the walls, and in an hour or two they had their establishments 

 again in working order, to the dismay of mistress and maid. 



My first introduction to spiders in the mass was when some 

 small friends took me to certain grooved crevices in the mantel- 

 pieces of the house. We went armed with a pair of scissors, a 

 crochet hook, and a cardboard box, and very soon had a 

 beautiful collection. If only one could preserve the lovely 

 colours ; they are wonderfully beautiful. The large mason 

 fly, whose property they were, came behind now and again with 

 an angry buzz, but attempted no rescue. 



Some were of the size and colour of a pea, pale green, but 

 marked with white ; others, of a delicate grey, had brilliant 

 red facings. Some seemed made of granulated white enamel, 

 others of intricate filigree. One little fellow was most quaint, 

 his back sticking up like a tiny fool's cap made of silver; 

 others again were black and venomous-looking. Then there 

 were sober, little brown, or buff, or tiny white specimens, but 

 it is impossible to describe them, and, though shut in an air- 

 tight box with camphor, they failed to keep. 



By and by I was presented with a large grey spider brooding 

 over seventeen balls like moulded cherries, only rounder, 

 strung, and woven together. This one I bottled in spirit, and 

 declined to receive any more. 



Toowoomba Gardens are bowered with creeping plants, 



