246 The Life of the Spider 



In my boyhood, when a troop of us would go, 

 on Thursdays, 1 to try and catch a Goldfinch in 

 the hemp-fields, we used, before covering the 

 twigs with glue, to grease our fingers with a few 

 drops of oil, lest we should get them caught in 

 the sticky matter. Does the Epeira know the 

 secret of fatty substances ? Let us try. 



I rub my exploring straw with slightly oiled 

 paper. When applied to the spiral thread of the 

 web, it now no longer sticks to it. The principle 

 is discovered. I pull out the leg of a Hve Epeira. 

 Brought just as it is into contact with the lime- 

 threads, it does not stick to them any more than 

 to the neutral cords, whether spokes or parts of 

 the framework. We were entitled to expect 

 this, judging by the Spider's general immunity. 



But here is something that wholly alters the 

 result. I put the leg to soak for a quarter of an 

 hour in disulphide of carbon, the best solvent of 

 fatty matters. I wash it carefully with a brush 

 dipped in the same fluid. When this washing is 

 finished, the leg sticks to the snaring-thread 

 quite easily and adheres to it just as well as 



* The weekly half-holiday in French schools. — Translator's 

 Note. 



