202 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
for dislodging the earth in their construction 
work. Always the site chosen for their home is 
in a sloping bank, and the task of digging out the 
tunnel is laborious enough. But it is gone at with 
a will, the dirt being loosened fast and furiously, 
rolled into a ball, and thrown out with the strong, 
spiny hind-legs. One observed took an hour to 
dig a hollow about the size of a hickory-nut. 
“ Once the tunnel is completed, the next job 
is to coat the walls thoroughly with saliva. This 
mixes with the earth and forms a cement which is 
thoroughly water-proof, and so firm that the en¬ 
tire nest is often dug out and carried away by 
collectors. Different types of the trap-door spi¬ 
ders build differently, but the past-masters of the 
clan all build branched tunnels, the palm going to 
the species, which, as soon as one shaft is finished, 
builds another leading upward from the bottom 
of the first, the whole construction when com¬ 
pleted forming an angle like the letter V. Small 
hope is there of every waylaying this latter wise 
little denizen in her burrow! Should an enemy 
manage to step in at one entrance, the other shaft 
offers a quick and speedy avenue of retreat. 
“ Now as to the door itself: there are two types 
of trap-lids built. The simplest of these is termed 
the wafer type. This is merely a thick flap, com¬ 
posed of silky thread, firmly cemented with earth 
and saliva to make it strong and water-proof. 
