28 pllnt's natural histoex. Book XI. 



its web and the tenacious texture of the woof, which would 

 appear of itself to be finished and arranged by the exercise of 

 the very highest art ! How loose, too, is the body of the web 

 as it yields to the blasts, and how readily does it catch all objects 

 which come in its way ! You would fancy that it had left, 

 quite exhausted, the thrums of the upper portion of its net 

 unfinished where they are spread across ; it is with the great- 

 est difiiculty that they are to be perceived, and yet the moment 

 that an object touches them, like the lines of the hunter's net, 

 they throw it into the body of the web. "With what archi- 

 tectural skill, too, is its hole arched over, and how well de- 

 fended by a nap of extra thickness against the cold ! How 

 carefully, too, it retires into a corner, and appears intent upon 

 anything but what it really is, all the while that it is so care- 

 fully shut up from view, that it is impossible to perceive whe- 

 ther there is anything within or not ! And then too, how ex- 

 traordinary the strength of the web ! When is the wind ever 

 known to break it, or what accumulation of dust is able to 

 weigh it down ? 



The spider often spreads its web right across between two 

 trees, when plying its art and learning how to spin ; and then, 

 as to its length, the thread extends from the very top of the 

 tree to the ground, while the insect springs up again in an 

 instant from the earth, and travels aloft by the very self-same 

 thread, thus mounting at the same moment and spinning 

 its threads. When its prey falls into its net, how on the "alert 

 it is, and with what readiness it runs to seize it ! Even 

 though it should be adhering to the very edge of its web, the 

 insect always runs instantly to the middle, as it is by these 

 means that it can most effectually shake the web, and so suc- 

 cessfully entangle its prey. When the web is torn, the 

 spider immediately sets about repairing it, and that so neatly, 

 that nothing like patching can ever be seen. The spider lies 

 in wait even for the young of the lizard, and after enveloping 

 the head of the animal, bites its lips ; a sight by no means 

 unworthy of the amphitheatre itself, when it is one's good for- 

 tune to witness it. Presages also are drawn from the spider ; 

 for when a river is about to swell, it will suspend its web 

 higher than usual. In calm weather these insects do not spin, 

 but when it is cloudy they do, and hence it is, that a great 

 number of cobwebs is a sure sign of showery weather. It is 



