Ginuies.—On the Habits of the Trap-door Spider. 255 
differ from those described by M. Erber, quoted by Moggridge (pages 115 
and 148), which were found ‘as single eggs at the bottom of the tube, not 
placed in cocoons, but attached by separate threads.’’ Where there was no 
enlargement, the cocoons were small, and where the enlargement existed, 
the cocoons were large, giving another illustration of the capacity of this 
spider for adapting the construction of its nest to suit special circumstances. 
One of the cocoons before you, No. 8, is an inch-and-a-quarter long by 
three-quarters broad, and contains, I have no doubt, from 50 to 100 eggs. It 
was very much larger before it was put into the spirits, the covering sack 
is thin and transparent, and when found was fully distended, like a balloon. 
I was informed by a resident in the neighbourhood that ‘‘ some weeks before 
the 9th November there were no cocoons in any of the nests he examined; 
but no end of young spiders of all sizes in almost every hole.”’ It is not 
very clear how this could have been the case, unless we are to suppose that 
these spiders are both viviparous and oviparous, or have no regular breed- 
ing time ; and on this subject I may note that my manager’s wife informed 
me that, ‘‘ some months before November, she confined a Trap-door Spider 
in a corked bottle, alone, and in a few days there were a great many little 
ones in the bottle, and the old one was dead.’’ But whatever may be the 
explanation of these two statements—and of their truthfulness I have not 
the remotest doubt—my own observations show that, on the 8th November, 
I got some very minute spiders in a sealed-up nest which had an enlarge- 
ment in it, and that towards the end of February, I got a nest with a number 
of young ones which I took down to Dunedin with me. One or two of 
these young ones are in bottle No. 10, with the dried spider, and they are 
very small. Between these dates, nests with young spiders in them were 
repeatedly obtained. Besides the occasion mentioned, where they were got 
crawling outside, I will only refer to two other occasions when I found 
them, and as both had special cireumstances connected with them, I will 
copy from my note-book :—‘ 13th November, 1874.—My little boys and 
servant brought me the bottom of a nest, which had been cut through by 
the plough immediately before they dug it out, the upper part of the nest 
being in the sod turned over. It was got on the hill above the stable-pad- 
dock, in virgin land, and it is now before you, No. 5. The mother spider 
and a great many of her young ones were secured, and are now in bottle 
No. 4. Altogether there were thirty-three, besides herself, put into the 
spirits by me; but a great many were said to have escaped out of the nest, 
and were not caught. The nest was tough and well-woven, and some of 
the young, on my attempting to remove them, seemed to adhere to the 
bottom of the nest. Several of them had agreenish-blue spot on them, and 
some were brown, as referred to in page 225. The other occasion I wish to 
