212 The Life of the Spider 



The latter draws the thread from the spinneret 

 and passes it to the inner leg, which, with a 

 graceful movement, lays it on the radius crossed. 

 At the same time, the first leg measures the 

 distance ; it grips the last coil placed in position 

 and brings within a suitable range that point of 

 the radius whereto the thread is to be fixed. As 

 soon as the radius is touched, the thread sticks 

 to it by its own glue. There are no slow 

 operations, no knots : the fixing is done of itself. 



Meanwhile, turning by narrow degrees, the 

 spinstress approaches the auxiliary chords that 

 have just served as her support. When, in the 

 end, these chords become too close, they will 

 have to go ; they would impair the symmetry 

 of the work. The Spider, therefore, clutches 

 and holds on to the rungs of a higher row ; she 

 picks up, one by one, as she goes along, those 

 which are of no more use to her and gathers 

 them into a fine-spun ball at the contact-point 

 of the next spoke. Hence arises a series of 

 silky atoms marking the course of the dis- 

 appearing spiral. 



The light has to fall favourably for us to 

 perceive these specks, the only remains of the 



