NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN 



shortening and drawing taut her threads, until the 

 edges of the leaf are approximated and overlaid and a 

 pretty, bell-shaped tent is formed. Into this the spider 

 crawls, and by a process which our lady friends might 

 call "satin-stitching" or "blind embroidery" spreads a 

 soft, white, silken lining. Then, with face turned towards 

 the front of her miniature wigwam, and fore legs out- 

 reached, she clasps the strong trap-line that unites her 

 to the centre of her orbweb and gives her control of its 

 delicate machinery, almost as responsive to touch as 

 nerve-tissue. 



Often the tent is to be made up of several leaves, or 

 of a cluster of grass tips or a bunch of ferns. The man- 

 ner of work is then more complex, but the essential 

 method is the same. The several bits of material to be 

 wrought into shape are gradually approximated by a 

 series of successive trial threads until all are drawn 

 together. This basting process is applied to the inner 

 side of the leaves as well as to the outer. It is not all 

 done at once. The tent is a development, being im- 

 proved, enlarged, strengthened, as the creature grows 

 or as circumstances require, quite after the fashion of 

 human habitations. Always the aranead will adapt 

 herself to the situation. Whether one leaf or two leaves 

 or a tuft of wild flowers, grasses, or ferns be the chosen 

 material from which to fashion her tent, she joins the 

 parts together with her silken threads with a rude but 

 effective skill. 



If we may include, within that wider conception of 

 tailoring which this meditation assumes, such combina- 

 tions of fibre and fabric as netted-work, the spider has 

 further claim to a place within the guild. The hunting- 

 nets of ancient Egypt were of such fineness that one 



202 



