The Garden Spiders: My Neighbour 



a fibre to it on each journey. Whether I help 

 or not, this forms the 'suspension-cable,' the 

 main piece of the frame-work. I call it a 

 cable, in spite of its extreme thinness, because 

 of its structure. It looks as though it were 

 single, but, at the two ends, it is seen to divide 

 and spread, tuft-wise, into numerous constit- 

 uent parts, which are the product of as many 

 crossings. These diverging fibres, with their 

 several contact-points, increase the steadiness 

 of the two extremities. 



The suspension-cable is incomparably 

 stronger than the rest of the work and lasts 

 for an indefinite time. The web is generally 

 shattered after the night's hunting and is 

 nearly always rewoven on the following 

 evening. After the removal of the wreckage, 

 it is made all over again, on the same site, 

 cleared of everything except the cable from 

 which the new network is to hang. 



The laying of this cable is a somewhat 

 difficult matter, because the success of the en- 

 terprise does not depend upon the animal's 

 industry alone. It has to wait until a breeze 

 carries the line to the £>ier-head in the bushes. 

 Sometimes, a calm prevails; sometimes, the 

 thread catches at an unsuitable point. This 



253 



