6o The Life of a Spider 



balloon in the other. The same internal arrange- 

 ments prevail behind this frontage : first, a 

 flossy quilt ; next, a little keg in which the 

 eggs are packed. Though the two Spiders 

 build the outer wall according to special archi- 

 tectural rules, they both employ the same 

 means as a protection against the cold. 



As we see, the egg-bag of the Epeirse, par- 

 ticularly that of the Banded Epeira, is an 

 important and complex work. Various mater- 

 ials enter into its composition : white silk, red 

 silk, brown silk ; moreover, these materials 

 are worked into dissimilar products : stout 

 cloth, soft eiderdown, dainty satinette, porous 

 felt. And all of this comes from the same 

 workshop that weaves the hunting-net, warps 

 the zigzag ribbon-band and casts an entangling 

 shroud over the prey. 



What a wonderful silk-factory it is ! With a 

 very simple and never-varying plant, consisting 

 of the hind-legs and the spinnerets, it produces, 

 by turns, rope-maker's, spinner's, weaver's, 

 ribbon-maker's and fuller's work. How does 

 the Spider direct an establishment of this kind ? 

 How does she obtain, at will, skeins of diverse 



