26 The Spider. 



a body ; but by more close examination, we find that they have no 

 hard shells like the eggs of birds, but that they are soft and com- 

 pressible ; accordingly before being laid they lie in the " ovarium," 

 or egg-bag, squeezed together in a flat mass, only assuming their 

 globular form after being laid. 



VII. Construction of Nest. — The eggs are usually placed in a 

 roundish ball, in \Yhich case the mother spider uses her body as a 

 gauge to measure the work. She first spreads a thin coating of 

 silk as a foundation, keeping this in a circular form by turning her 

 body during the process, spinning a circular border around this 

 until it resembles a cup in shape, and at this stage of the work she 

 begins to lay her eggs, not only filling the cup to the brim, but 

 piling the eggs above it, as high as the cup is deep. And she then 

 weaves a web round these. 



VIII. Mode of arranging the Eggs. — There is a curious 

 mechanism for the purpose of placing the eggs in the right 

 position. They are extruded from a cavity just behind the breast; 

 an organ here exists something in the form of a hook, which the 

 spider can move, in such a manner as to direct every egg to the 

 exact spot in the nest, in which it wishes it to be placed. 



[After an elaborate and interesting description of the anatomy 

 of the foot, spinnarets, etc., of the spider, and the construction of 

 its web, etc., the paper concluded with the following brief remarks 

 on the habits of spiders.] 



A very curious circumstance has lately been discovered about 

 the spider, namely, that it sometimes eats its web. 



It now remains to notice briefly the various habits and instincts 

 displayed by spiders. One of the most ingenious is the trapdoor 

 spider, which digs a nest three or four inches deep, and lines it 

 with silk, constructing a door of the finest thread, with a hinge so 

 perfect as to be able to be opened hundreds of times without 

 injury. 



The gossamer spiders float high into the air, borne upon an 

 almost invisible thread. 



The water spiders form an airtight dwelling beneath the stream. 



The hunting spiders creep steadily upon their prey, and then 

 spring on it like lightning. 



The garden spiders are called geometrical spiders, from the 

 mathematical precision with which they form their net. 



The house spider lurks, awaiting its prey, in a silken tunnel 

 communicating with the web. 



There are also the pirate spiders, which skim over the surface 

 of the waters, and snatch up the drowning and helpless fly. 



