The Clotho Spider 355 



the children, still locked in their satin bed- 

 chamber for the best part of the year, are none 

 the less active. 



Can it be that they derive sustenance from 

 the silken wrapper ? Do they eat their house ? 

 The supposition is not absurd, for we have seen 

 the Epeirae, before beginning a new web, 

 swallow the ruins of the old. But the explana- 

 tion cannot be accepted, as we leam from the 

 Lycosa, whose family boasts no silky screen. In 

 short, it is certain that the young, of whatever 

 species, take absolutely no nourishment. 



Lastly, we wonder whether they may possess 

 within themselves reserves that come from the 

 ^^%, fatty or other matters the gradual com- 

 bustion of which would be transformed into 

 mechanical force. If the expenditure of energy 

 were of but short duration, a few hours or a few 

 days, we could gladly welcome this idea of a 

 motor viaticum, the attribute of every creature 

 bom into the world. The chick possesses it in 

 a high degree : it is steady on its legs, it moves 

 for a little while with the sole aid of the food 

 wherewith the ^^;^ furnishes it ; but soon, if the 

 stomach is not kept supplied, the centre of 

 energy becomes extinct and the bird dies. How 



