SPIDER GOSSIP. 



87 



are of much the same shape (see r.) ; those of the lower pair, 

 drawn at />, have a distinct form of their own. On all the 

 spinners the arrangement of the discharge-tubes is such that they 

 normally converge towards one point, so that the threadlets of 

 silk, being semi-fluid, run together as they stream out. They 

 harden immediately, and form, I am nearly sure, a solid, homo- 



Spinnerets of Epeira (qwclisa, magnified 55 diameters. 



geneous thread. In his " Oceana," Mr. Froude gravely informs 

 us that at the Melbourne Observatory is kept a certain refined 

 breed of spiders which spin a thread of three strands only, instead 

 of one of eight strands, as vulgar English spiders do. These 

 three-stranded threads are unravelled by the skilful astronomers 

 to get fine lines to measure with, because a whole thread is too 



