42 SPIDERS [CH. 



and another phase of the work has clearly begun ; it 

 crawls about over the almost invisible foundation 

 lines with a most curious gait, using its long legs to 

 sway its body from side to side, raising and depressing 

 its abdomen at intervals, and as this motion continues 

 a beautiful gauzy sheet of incredibly fine texture 

 gradually grows into view. What is happening is 

 that the spider is strewing over the foundation 

 lines multitudinous threads from its long posterior 

 spinnerets, which are beset on their under surface 

 with numbers of hair-like spinning tubes from each 

 of which the silk is issuing. All day long the process 

 goes on, and by slow degrees the web increases in 

 density. Indeed for days after the structure is 

 complete the spider spends odd moments in going 

 over the ground again till the sheet, and especially 

 the tube proceeding from it to a corner of the box, 

 are so closely woven as to have become almost 

 opaque, and its occupant at length appears to be 

 satisfied with his handiwork, and retires into the 

 tube to wait patiently for casual visitors. 



July is a good month in which to experiment with 

 Agelena, for if the captives include female specimens 

 some further spinning operations of a very complicated 

 description may be observed. The time of egg-laying 

 is at hand and elaborate preparations have to be 

 made, but if the experimenter wis) cs to sec Uie 

 whole process he must be prepared to sacrifice his 



