The Spiders Exodus 157 



methods vie in ingenuity with the elm's samara, 

 the dandehon-plume and the catapult of the 

 squirting cucumber. 



Let us consider, in particular, the Epeirae, 

 those magnificent Spiders who, to catch their 

 prey, stretch, between one bush and the next, 

 great vertical sheets of meshes, resembling those 

 of the fowler. The most remarkable in my dis- 

 trict is the Banded Epeira [Epeira fasciata, 

 Walck.), so prettily belted with yellow, black 

 and silvery white. Her nest, a marvel of 

 gracefulness, is a satin bag, shaped like a tiny 

 pear. Its neck ends in a concave mouthpiece 

 closed with a lid, also of satin. Brown ribbons, 

 in fanciful meridian waves, adorn the object 

 from pole to pole. 



Open the nest. We have seen, in an earlier 

 chapter, 1 what we find there ; let us retell the 

 story. Under the outer wrapper, which is as 

 stout as our woven stuffs and, moreover, per- 

 fectly waterproof, is a russet eiderdown of 

 exquisite delicacy, a silky fluff resembling 

 driven smoke. Nowhere does mother-love 

 prepare a softer bed. 



^ Chapter ii. — Translator's Note. 



