The Life of the Spider 



those magnificent Spiders who, to catch their 

 prey, stretch, between one bush and the next, 

 great vertical sheets of meshes, resembling 

 those of the fowler. The most remarkable in 

 my district is the Banded Epeira {Epeira fas- 

 ciata, Walck.), so prettily belted with yel- 

 low, black and silvery white. Her nest, a mar- 

 vel of gracefulness, is a satin bag, shaped like 

 a tiny pear. Its neck ends in a concave mouth- 

 piece closed with a lid, also of satin. Brown 

 ribbons, in fanciful meridian waves, adorn the 

 object from pole to pole. 



Open the nest. We have seen, in an earlier 

 chapter, 1 what we find there; let us retell the 

 story. Under the outer wrapper, which is as 

 stout as our woven stuffs and, moreover, per- 

 fectly waterproof, is a russet eiderdown of ex- 

 quisite delicacy, a silky fluff resembling driven 

 smoke. Nowhere does mother-love prepare a 

 softer bed. 



In the middle of this downy mass hangs a 

 fine, silk, thimble-shaped purse, closed with a 

 movable lid. This contains the eggs, of a 

 pretty orange-yellow and about five hundred 

 in number. 



All things considered, is not this charming 



'Chapter II. — Translator' s Note. 



190 



