24 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XIII, 



even be reddish markings. To an experienced eye the indivi- 

 duals are recognizable just as are members of a family of close- 

 haired dogs, and their hairy skins heighten the resemblance, 

 when seen under a microscope. 



Cyrtophora citricola will build as many as twelve cocoons, 



each containing about 75 eggs, which hatch out as a rule in 16 

 days. The interval between building the cocoons is as a rule 

 4 days. Directly the young quit the nest they are capable of 



spinning 



During the 4 days' interval before the arrival of the next 

 brood they build a little snare about 1£ inches in diameter, 

 exactly like their mother's. Then they aviate, and, if in a 

 verandah, make their way out into the world— but not to the 



interior of the house. 



They cast their skins twice during the first month or so 



TlVl^D rr\f\-r>s\ Kv*-\-f,-*-M,-v 4-"L«__ — r 11 m ■ m 



twice 



in two or three months from birth. The rate of growth varies 

 in individuals and depends to some extent on the amount of 

 food they get. They live 5 or 6 months. 



Fabre denies any sense of property in spiders but I find it 

 is very marked. As every Englishman's house is his castle, so 

 every Citricola s snare is regarded as sacrosanct, and it is verv 

 rare lor one specimen to invade the snare or to attempt to 

 steal or misappropriate the propertv of i .other. 



Jt a fly or grub, for instance, falls on to a snare, it is taken 



pL r o e f r Vrier ' an ? ? e is left in P eaceful possession, but if it 



S gl ' aSP ° f the ° Wner and falls on ft* foundation lines, 

 which are common property, it comes into play again, and the 



Inffl. ff 17 t * 1S th T regarded as the owner. There is no 

 scuffle after it is once fairly seized. There is much evidence 



"S P ° mt rec ? rded 'j 1 m > T dia »es. Once or twice I have 

 Zt^T exC + e P tlo " al departure from the path of rectitude, 

 but Me may notice this is it, higher forms of life ! 



™»ot«Jv? °! C y rt °P!' om citrim/a resembles the weba of other 



caZf h ^f ^? w . ? the finer d< .iis of its structure, but 



cX Lf ^r^ mih them as regards sha Pe, being practi- 

 in Lh nf K a m °' S f a sMghtl >' elevated ™™ i" the centre, 



htSthPn,^ "S^r 1 " I h °P eto be able to describe 

 wehnfT- , du «edmthe construction of the dome-shaped 



methodf o? r T- / F ° r ?« P" 8 ^* I need only sav that the 

 methods of G. citricola and C. ciccatrosa are not altogether the 



Arachnol 



iialm fnr Qm'nn^ \ TV -™ A "^g^s i nave read awara tne 



K*W << e garden spider or some other 8 P ecie8 of 



peroSdTcnS . -2*? Wheel " Snares - Thp ^rt wheel or 



centre and LT? ^ "? radial s P okes ^anating from the 



art and verv T ?•*? to J* e circ « mf erence is a high work of 



Sifch hZZZ^?*'^ t?"™* a *™* deal <*toe praise 



wn.cn has been bestowed on it, but the web of Cyrtophora citri- 



