17 
central, loiigituclinal lines joining one another at the front 
of the abdomen, and 5 slanting lines on eacli side pointing 
from the base upwards towards the front. The front legs 
are 10 mm. long; the 2nd and 4th pairs are not much 
shorter. 
In February, T noticed that most of the basket-nests 
were deserted by the spiders; some of them contained 
egg-sacs. 
How do the spiders find their way to trees frequented 
by ants? It is probable that when birds visit the trees to 
feed upon the ants, that the young spiders jump onto 
the birds’ feathers, and are carried to another suitable 
tree. 
In the accompanying drawing, the distinctive features 
of the spiders and nest are somewhat exaggerated. 
A PROPOSED NEW GENUS OF THE FAMILY 
ORCHiDACEAE 
T. E. HUNT 
PERISTERANTIIVH gen. nov. (Gk. pcrG/erc/— a dove, 
and anthuH — a flower, the flower bearing a fanciful re- 
.^emblance to a dove). 
Sepala petalaque aequalia, libera, patula, crassa. 
incurva; sepala lateralia ad pedem brevissimum colum- 
iiae sita mentuin parvnm formantia. Labellnm in pede 
columnae sessile sed mobile, saccatum, crassissiimim ; lobi 
laterales ampli. erecti; lol)us medius absens ; saccus callo 
longo conrco ad basem inuri antici praeditus. Columna 
bfevis, lata, incurva. Anthera bilocularia, rostrata. Pol- 
linia 4 inaequalia in massis 2 eoalita; pedicellus latus, 
longus ; discus ampins. Ilostellum forcipatum. Stigma 
amplum, orbieulatum, profunde depressum. 
Herba epiphytica. Caulis rigidus, flexuosus. Folia 
vaginantia, imbrieata. Flores in racemis axillaribus dis- 
positi bracteis minutis persistentibus. 
1\ liillii (F. Muell.) Hunt. Stems up to 15 cm long, 
rigid, flexuose, covered witli the scarious I’emains of the 
bases of the fallen leaves. Leaves 5-6 distichous, 
membranous, flat, sheathing, imbricate, nerves prominent, 
oblong-lanceolate, acute, unequally bifid, 8-13 cm long. 
Kacemes long many-flowered; bracts minute, persistent, 
deltoid. Flowers about 4.5 mm long, greenish richly 
spotted with crimson, all segments thick in texture, 
pedicels very short. Sepals and petals equal, ligulate 
