The Banded Epeira 



which enables the fastenings for the net to 

 be multiplied. 



The several straps, after describing a cer- 

 tain number of turns, ravel out at the ends 

 and hang loose. After them come inter- 

 laced threads, greater in number and finer in 

 texture. In the tangled jumble occur what 

 might almost be described as weaver's knots. 

 As far as one can judge by the result alone, 

 without having seen the bird at work, this is 

 how the canvas, the support of the cotton 

 wall, is obtained. 



This woof, this inner framework, is ob- 

 viously not constructed in its entirety from 

 the start; it goes on gradually, as the bird 

 stuffs the part above it with cotton. The 

 wadding, picked up bit by bit from the 

 ground, is teazled by the bird's claws and in- 

 serted, all fleecy, into the meshes of the 

 canvas. The beak pushes it, the breast presses 

 it, both inside and out. The result is a soft 

 felt a couple of inches thick. 



Near the top of the pouch, on one side, is 

 contrived a narrow orifice, tapering into a 

 short neck. This is the kitchen-door. In 

 order to pass through it, the Penduline, small 

 though he be, has to force the elastic parti- 



103 



