352 SPIDERS. 



manner than either patiently waiting in ambush or by catching 

 it with a bound. It runs about with great velocity in and out, 

 behind and around every object, searching for what it may de- 

 vour, and, from its size and rapid motions, excites the horror of 

 every stranger. I never knew it to do any harm except frighten- 

 ing the nervous, and I believe few could look upon it for the first 

 time without feeling himself in danger. It is named by the na- 

 tives " selali," and is believed to be the maker of a hinged cover 

 for its nest. You see a door, about the size of a shilling, lying 

 beside a deep hole of nearly similar diameter. The inside of the 

 door lying upward, and which attracts your notice, is of a pure 

 white silky substance, like paper. The outer side is coated over 

 with earth, precisely like that in which the hole is made. If you 

 try to lift it, you find it is fastened by a hinge on one side, and, 

 if it is turned over upon the hole, it fits it exactly, and the earthy 

 side being then uppermost, it is quite impossible to detect the 

 situation of the nest. Unfortunately, this cavity for breeding is 

 never seen except when the owner is out, and has left the door 

 open behind her. 



In some parts of the country there are great numbers of a large, 

 beautiful yellow-spotted spider, the webs of which are about a 

 yard in diameter. The lines on which these webs are spun are 

 suspended from one tree to another, and are as thick as coarse 

 thread. The fibres radiate from a central point, where the insect 

 waits for its prey. The webs are placed perpendicularly, and a 

 common occurrence in walking is to get the face enveloped in them 

 as a lady is in a veil. 



Another kind of spider lives in society, and forms so great a 

 collection of webs placed at every angle, that the trunk of a tree 

 surrounded by them can not be seen. A piece of hedge is often 

 so hidden by this spider that the branches are invisible. An- 

 other is seen on the inside of the walls of huts among the Mako- 

 lolo in great abundance. It is round in shape, spotted, brown in 

 color, and the body half an inch in diameter ; the spread of the 

 legs is an inch and a half. It makes a smooth spot for itself on 

 the wall, covered with the above-mentioned white silky substance. 

 There it is seen standing the whole day, and I never could ascer- 

 tain how it fed. It has no web, but a carpet, and is a harmless, 

 though an ugly neighbor. 



