The Family 131 



Once more, with what do the little ones 

 keep up their strength ? We do not Uke to 

 suggest reserves supplied by the ^^'g as recti- 

 fying the beastie's expenditure of vital force, 

 especially when we consider that those re- 

 serves, themselves so close to nothing, must 

 be economized in view of the silk, a material 

 of the highest importance, of which a plenti- 

 ful use will be made presently. There must 

 be other powers at play in the tiny animal's 

 machinery. 



Total abstinence from food could be under- 

 stood, if it were accompanied by inertia : 

 immobility is not life. But the young Lycosae, 

 although usually quiet on their mother's back, 

 are at all times ready for exercise and for agile 

 swarming. When they fall from the maternal 

 perambulator, they briskly pick themselves up, 

 briskly scramble up a leg and make their way 

 to the top. It is a splendidly nimble and 

 spirited performance. Besides, once seated, 

 they have to keep a firm balance in the mass ; 

 they have to stretch and stiffen their little 

 limbs in order to hang on to their neighbours. 

 As a matter of fact, there is no absolute rest for 



