358 NEW ARANEID^ OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 



time; but this evidently did not exhaust the supply, for on opening 

 the abdomen the glands were found to be still partially filled. 

 Further experiments led this enthusiastic naturalist to believe 

 that N. plujnipes could be bred in large numbers and utilised for 

 its silk, and for this purpose he suggested that each spider be 

 kept by herself in a wire ring surrounded by water, fed with flies 

 bred for the purpose from old meat, and milked each day of her 

 silk. Every day or two each spider should be t?Jven down, put 

 into a pair of stocks, and milked of its thread until it no longer 

 yielded. By adopting this plan an ounce of silk might be obtained 

 from each spider during the summer. The silk thus reeled off is 

 much smoother and more brightly coloured, as well as finer 

 than that of the silkworm. Several threads would have to be 

 twisted together to obtain one of workable thickness. Although 

 the yellow silk when present in the web is so remarkably viscid 

 and flexible, the same material when drawn ofT artificially is quite 

 dry and far less elastic. 



Now, while it is possible to breed spiders of this or any other 

 genus, and to obtain silk in the manner suggested, the difficulties 

 in the way are far too great for any serious effort in the direction 

 indicated by Wilder, as the space needed for keeping each spider 

 by herself, and the amount of labour necessary to provide them 

 with living food, and to draw off the silk, would render the 

 product too expensive for use. 



Spiders of the genus Nephila, when in captivity, become quite 

 tame, and soon learn to distinguish their attendant. I have kept 

 numbers of them, and have noticed that, although at first very 

 shy, they quickly learned to take food from the hand, and also 

 water when offered to them on a small camel-hair brush. Exceed- 

 ingly voracious naturally, they can nevertheless exist for many 

 days without either food or water. 



The males of this genus are veritable pigmies in comparison 

 with the females, though in proportion to their size, the legs of 

 the latter are considerably longer; the markings of the male, while 

 similar in many cases to that of the female, are not as distinct, 

 but run together and appear darker. 



