98 MR. H. W. KEW ON THE 
with silk, or less commonly formed in holes in stones, ete., the 
cavity in that case being lined with silk and the entrance closed 
in with a film of the same material *. 
LiVic 
The nests throughout the Order, and for whichever purpose 
they are made, are less divergent in character than might be 
supposed from the foregoing details. Their essential features 
are everywhere much the same. ‘he completed nest is a closed 
cell of silk with or without a complete or partial covering of 
extraneous matters externally. From this the animal has to 
cut or break its way out when it wishes to emerge. Viewed 
from above, the structure is roughly circular; but in other 
respects its form varies with the build of the animal and with 
the nature of the habitat. In the case of the more flattened 
animals which inhabit crevices the structure is often compressed. 
The silk in these circumstances is often spread over and attached 
to solid surfaces both above and below; and the films thus 
attached, which form the floor and roof of the nest, are con- 
tinuous with and connected together by a circular wall. At 
other times, in spaces relatively wider, the film of the floor only 
is thus attached, and this film is continued above as a free, more 
or less convex, roof. In the case of less flattened animals living 
among stones, in vegetable débris, etc., the floor may be similarly 
attached and be surmounted by a pronounced dome; or the nests 
may be made in roundish cavities, or more frequently attached 
here and there to surrounding objects, and their form is then 
roughly globular. In all cases, however, there is variation from 
individual to individual, the animals enclosing themselves in con- 
venient spots of varying character. The creature is always rather 
closely surrounded, though with ample room for free movement, 
and thus the differences in the size of the nests follow rather 
closely those of the makers. In the work of adult individuals 
there is a range of diameter from about 2 mm. to 10 mm. or 
more. ‘The external covering of extraneous matters when it 
exists consists for the most part of earthy or vegetable frag- 
ments. It may be complete or partial, dense or sparse, and 
occur over the unattached parts of nests of whatever form. 
Some such covering is characteristic of the nests of many 
species; but in certain others it is invariably absent. The 
fragments are never over-spun, that is to say, bound on by 
threads passing over them, but they are always firmly attached 
to and form part of the structure. They never affect the interior, 
which is always free from foreign substances and smooth. The 
spun-material has the character of a thin dense whitish tissue, 
presumably largely impervious to moisture, and opaque, or 
* Godfrey mentions that some of the nests of Ohth. tetrachelatus had within 
them a second “ silk cocoon of exquisite texture and quite separate from the first 
lining.” This might result, perhaps, from the re-utilization of old nests. But 
Godfrey saw so many of these “ double linings ” that one can scarcely dismiss the 
subject with this suggestion. 
