Appendix 367 



Where do these glairy creatures pick up this 

 science ? We are told that the Mollusc derives 

 from the Worm. One day, the Worm, rendered 

 frisky by the sun, emancipated itself, brandished 

 its tail and twisted it into a corkscrew for sheer 

 glee. There and then the plan of the future 

 spiral shell was discovered. 



This is what is taught quite seriously, in these 

 days, as the very last word in scientific progress. 

 It remains to be seen up to what point the 

 explanation is acceptable. The Spider, for 

 her part, will have none of it. Unrelated to 

 the appendix-lacking, corkscrew-twirling Worm, 

 she is nevertheless familiar with the logarithmic 

 spiral. From the celebrated curve she obtains 

 merely a sort of framework; but, elementary 

 though this framework be, it clearly marks the 

 ideal edifice. The Epeira works on the same 

 principles as the Mollusc of the convoluted shell. 



The Mollusc has years wherein to construct 

 its spiral and it uses the utmost finish in the 

 whirHng process. The Epeira, to spread her 

 net, has but an hour's sitting at the most, 

 wherefore the speed at which she works compels 

 her to rest content with a simpler production. 



