The Life of the Spider 



he bound. The snareling falls on the sheet- 

 web. Tegenaria hastens up and bites him in 

 the neck. 



Having said this, let us experiment a little. 

 In the web of the House Spider, I make a 

 round hole, two fingers wide. The hole re- 

 mains yawning all day long; but next morning 

 it is invariably closed. An extremely thin 

 gauze covers the breach, the dark appearance 

 of which contrasts with the dense whiteness 

 of the surrounding fabric. The gauze is so 

 delicate that, to make sure of its presence, I 

 use a straw rather than my eyes. The move- 

 ment of the web, when this part is touched, 

 proves the presence of an obstacle. 



Here, the matter would appear obvious. 

 The House Spider has mended her work dur- 

 ing the night; she has put a patch in the torn 

 stuff, a talent unknown to the Garden Spiders. 

 It would be greatly to her credit, if a more 

 attentive study did not lead to another 

 conclusion. 



The web of the House Spider is, as we 

 were saying, a platform for watching and 

 exploring; it is also a sheet into which the 

 insects caught in the overhead rigging fall. 

 This surface, a domain subject to unlimited 



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