1892.] 



THE JBRITISH ISf ATURALIST. 



226 



into their burrows like minute rabbits, while their small, white, flattish, 

 circular egg-cocoon (often two or more) may be observed spun up not 

 far from the burrow. 



With this little spider I must close my list ; no less than eight 

 spiders, all of more or less interest, can be observed in the month of 

 July upon a hedge of scarcely two feet high and twenty yards long. 



It is necessary to visit such localties either at dusk or in the very 

 early morning if one wishes to see spider-life in full swing ; indeed the 

 materials for this paper and the sketches for Plate xii. were all made 

 between 4 and 5 o'clock in the morning, much to the mystification of 

 an early coachman who was wont to pass that way to work. He 

 evidently could not comprehend what on earth a man in a top hat and 

 long coat should be glaring into a holly hedge for, at four o'clock on a 

 summer's morning. Now 1 must confess I very much dislike to have 

 my humble efforts to be a naturalist bandied about in the mouth of 

 ready mockers, and I invariably managed to wriggle off when he drew 

 inconveniently nigh. He used to watch and wonder as he puffed his 

 short black clay and little by little draw nearer and nearer, apparently 

 bursting to ask what was up. Now I hate a point blank question — 

 conscience will not allow me to prevaricate and the only escape is to 

 flatly refuse to answer, m short to be rude. For a long time I always 

 managed to forestall inconvenient questions by "fine weather! eh?" 

 ''good for the hay! eh?" and so on to horses and cows and turnips 

 and other congenial topics. But one morning he seemed determined 

 to have me — the look was in his eye — he meant business, and he 

 nearly did have me. He suddenly blurted out, ere I had time to get 

 a counter question in, very pointedly " 'tis late for holly berries, sir ! 

 eh ?" What was I to say ? — " er — ah —yes " — (happy thought) " it is 

 late for holly berries, yes ! it is distinctly late for holly berries " (it 

 was — being the end of June), " er, and, my word !" — looking at my 

 watch — " 'tis getting late for breakfast too — good morning, ' and I 

 was gone before we came to any understanding on the subject — 

 Never again ! No ! Never again ! 



thp: pterophorina of Britain, 



BY J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. , 

 (Continued from p. 161). 



Larva — Of the larva of this common " plume " Mr. Porritt writes 

 as follows: — "On tlie 13th of June last, Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher found, 

 feeding on speedwell growing on a bank at Worthing, a good supply 

 of Jarv^E ot this species, wliich he at once kindly forwarded to me. It 

 was, however, a late batch, for, at the time, Mr. i'detcher was breeding 

 the moth freely from larvae he had collected some weeks previously. 



