248 The Life of the Spider 



It is only on her resting-floor that the Epeira 

 sits, motionless and with her eight legs out- 

 spread, ready to mark the least quiver in the net. 

 It is here, again, that she takes her meals, often 

 long-drawn-out, when the joint is a substantial 

 one ; it is hither that, after trussing and 

 nibbhng it, she drags her prey at the end of a 

 thread, to consume it at her ease on a non- 

 viscous mat. As a hunting-post and refectory, 

 the Epeira has contrived a central space, free 

 from glue. 



As for the glue itself, it is hardly possible 

 to study its chemical properties, because the 

 quantity is so slight. The microscope shows it 

 trickling from the broken threads in the form of 

 a transparent and more or less granular streak. 

 The following experiment will tell us more 

 about it. 



With a sheet of glass passed across the web, I 

 gather a series of lime-threads which remain 

 fixed in parallel lines. I cover this sheet with 

 a bell-jar standing in a depth of water. Soon, 

 in this atmosphere saturated with humidity, the 

 threads become enveloped in a watery sheath, 

 which gradually increases and begins to flow. 



