VI CONSTRUCTIVE SKILL OF THE SPIDER 291 



had made on a wooden surface the beginnings of two combs, 

 one to the right, the other to the left, in such a way that the 

 latter should support an anterior, the former a posterior comb, 

 and the two when finished should be separated by the usual 

 distance between two combs in a hive. But the bees found that 

 they had not allowed sufficient distance. What did they do 

 in order to avoid losing the work already done ? They joined 

 the beginnings of the two combs into one. The curvature 

 necessarily produced was in the continuation of the comb 

 completely levelled, so that the lower part of the comb 

 became as regular as one properly commenced. 



In another case the bees had commenced a comb on the 

 lower edge of a glass plate. As the work proceeded it was 

 evident that the comb would become too heavy for the narrow 

 surface of attachment. The bees therefore built the comb at 

 first regularly upwards on both sides of the glass, attaching it 

 to the latter by the surface ; but farther up they contented 

 themselves with merely carrying a layer of wax over both 

 sides of the glass plate until they reached the wood in which 

 the plate was fastened, and there obtained a secure hold for 

 their structure. 



The skill of the garden -spider in building her web no 

 .doubt depends on instinct, but only with regard to the main 

 process : here also reflection is exercised on many points. In 

 the mere choice of the place where the net is to be spread, 

 the spider needs to take many things into consideration : 

 direction of wind, sunlight, abundance of insects, and, above 

 all, the assurance that the web will be safe from disturbance 

 in the place selected, require a host of intelligent conclusions 

 the question of security from disturbance alone requires a 

 number. And yet how correctly the spiders usually judge in 

 this very respect. And when the locality for the net is 

 chosen, the spider has to decide the points at which the frame 

 of the net to which the spokes are fastened shall be attached, 



