. [Articles about birds from National geographic magazine]. Birds. MAR\-F,LS OF METAMORPHOSIS 809. SEE THE TRAPDOOR? THAT S THE ENTRANCE TO THE SPIDERS HOUSE The author breaks in a new assistant—at the age ul 15 months! Alter being pried out (opposite picture), the adobe lump has been broken apart and the tube split free. Sometimes the clay bakes almost as hard as concrete. Spiders excavate and mold their snug houses alter winter rains have softened the earth. Circumstantial evidence gleaned from the nests pointed to two different assassins that attacked the spiders in their lairs (pages SI2 a
. [Articles about birds from National geographic magazine]. Birds. MAR\-F,LS OF METAMORPHOSIS 809. SEE THE TRAPDOOR? THAT S THE ENTRANCE TO THE SPIDERS HOUSE The author breaks in a new assistant—at the age ul 15 months! Alter being pried out (opposite picture), the adobe lump has been broken apart and the tube split free. Sometimes the clay bakes almost as hard as concrete. Spiders excavate and mold their snug houses alter winter rains have softened the earth. Circumstantial evidence gleaned from the nests pointed to two different assassins that attacked the spiders in their lairs (pages SI2 and 821). Here we are at last, on the top of the world. Off to the south, half hidden by the smoky haze, sprawls Los Angeles, with the Pacific shimmering on the faraway hori- zon. Miles to the east lies the high wall of the San Bernardino Mountains, topped by the snow-capped peak of Old Baldy in the hazy distance. Look! Danny has found a trapdoor, and marked it with a weighted scrap of paper. To see it, close by the paper, you will need a keen eye. It is about the size of a quarter, but blends into the ground surface so per- fectly that it is hard to spot. Danny has become an expert. Sometimes he brings along two or three of his pals, and they all hunt trapdoors at a penny apiece, while I dig furiously, trying to keep up (pages 808 and 82 7). ' INTO AN INSECT UNDERWORLD I wrecked several ordinary spades and shovels before I found a nurseryman's spade of tempered steel. The digging is comparatively easy on this hill because the adobe is mixed with shale and sand. For convenience in keeping my records, I give a distinguishing name to each good hunting ground we find. So we call this one -Crumbly ; But the pure, sun-dried adobe is a dif- ferent matter. One of the hardest spots we ever found lies about four miles west of here. "Concrete Hill" would have been an appropriate name. Adobe is a compact clay, and is very similar to what is called "blue gumbo&quo
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