The Life of the Spider 



The cotton of the poplar cannot, of 

 itself, supply a hanging pocket capable of 

 supporting the weight of the brood and 

 resisting the buffeting of the wind. 

 Rammed, entangled and packed together, 

 the flocks, similar to those which ordinary 

 wadding would give if chopped up very 

 fine, would produce only an agglomeration 

 devoid of cohesion and liable to be dis- 

 pelled by the first breath of air. They 

 require a canvas, a woof, to keep them in 

 position. 



Tiny dead stalks, with fibrous barks, well 

 softened by the action of moisture and the 

 air, furnish the Penduline with a coarse tow, 

 not unlike that of hemp. With these liga- 

 ments, purged of every woody particle and 

 tested for flexibility and tenacity, he winds 

 a number of loops round the end of the 

 branch which he has selected as a support 

 for his structure. 



It is not a very accurate piece of work. 

 The loops run clumsily and anyhow : some 

 are slacker, others tighter; but, when all is 

 said, it is solid, which is the main point. 

 Also, this fibrous sheath, the keystone of the 

 edifice, occupies a fair length of branch, 



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