ZOOLOGY. 127 



course of ensconsing his form in some secure retreat, from 

 which he emerges iu the first bright days of spring, again 

 to spin his ample web, and spread its meshes across the 

 open glades, and from branch to branch of the sweet- 

 scented cedars. 



The large house-spider of Bermuda is quite as large as 

 the former species, but different m shape and colour. In 

 the hot months, before a gale commences, this spider makes 

 its way iato the houses, sometimes carrying under its body 

 the bag containing the young, and takes up a position ia 

 some snug nook or corner until the storm be past. We 

 took a bag from one of these insects for a specimen ; it is 

 exactly the size of a sixpence, flattened in shape, and 

 rounded at the edges. Mr. Hurdis furnishes the following 

 note concemiag this species. "April 19th, 1855. Mea- 

 sured the span of the common large brown spider on the 

 parlour wall, by rule and compass, and found it to be four 

 and a half inches. This spider had inhabited the same 

 room for many weeks." 



A species with very minute body and amazing long legs 

 of most elegant and slender proportions, inhabited an out- 

 house at Hermitage, where, ia the corners of the walls, were 

 several separate webs of small size, each occupied by one 

 of these insects, which, on our approaching close, com- 

 menced vibrating its web so quickly as to make the spidei* 

 invisible to the eye. This species is known under the name 

 of " Eiager " on the Islands. 



Two or three other species, about the size of our common 

 English Spider, were common under the stones ia the cedar 

 groves, and a very prejty kind about the same size, and of 



