274 The Life of the Spider 



the extent of the danger before attacking. The 

 strength of the snareHng will decide the plan 

 of campaign. Let us first suppose the usual 

 case, that of an average head of game, a Moth 

 or Fly of some sort. Facing her prisoner, the 

 Spider contracts her abdomen slightly and 

 touches the insect for a moment with the end 

 of her spinnerets ; then, with her front tarsi, 

 she sets her victim spinning. The Squirrel, in 

 the moving cylinder of his cage, does not dis- 

 play a more graceful or nimbler dexterity. A 

 cross-bar of the sticky spiral serves as an axis 

 for the tiny machine, which turns, turns swiftly, 

 like a spit. It is a treat to the eyes to see it 

 revolve. 



What is the object of this circular motion ? 

 See, the brief contact of the spinnerets has given 

 a starting-point for a thread, which the Spider 

 must now draw from her silk-warehouse and 

 gradually roll around the captive, so as to 

 swathe him in a winding-sheet which will over- 

 power any effort made. It is the exact process 

 employed in our wire-mills : a motor-driven 

 spool revolves and, by its action, draws the wire 

 through the narrow eyelet of a steel plate. 



