The Labyrinth Spider 327 



layer upon layer both to the wall of the large 

 cabin and to that of the central chamber, so 

 much so that the texture, which at first was 

 translucent gauze, becomes opaque satin. The 

 walls never seem thick enough ; the Spider is 

 always working at them. To satisfy this lavish 

 expenditure, she must incessantly, by means 

 of feeding, fill her silk-glands as and when she 

 empties them by spinning. Food is the means 

 whereby she keeps the inexhaustible factory 

 going. 



A month passes ; and, about the middle of 

 September, the little ones hatch, but without 

 leaving their tabernacle, where they are to 

 spend the winter packed in soft wadding. The 

 mother continues to watch and spin, lessening 

 her activity from day to day. She recruits 

 herself with a Locust at longer intervals ; she 

 sometimes scorns those whom I myself entangle 

 in her trap. This increasing abstemiousness, a 

 sign of decrepitude, slackens and at last stops 

 the work of the spinnerets. 



For four or five weeks longer, the mother 

 never ceases her leisurely inspection-rounds, 

 happy at hearing the new-bom Spiders swarming 



