234 



HOUSE, GARDEN, AND FIELD 



net is the laying of the exterior lines, which pass in most 

 cases from branch to branch, and are composed of several 

 threads glued together. These are secured at many points 

 by finer threads. Having thus completed the foundations 

 of her snare, the spider proceeds to fill up the outline. 

 Attaching a new thread to one of the boundary lines, she 

 travels along the circumference, drawing out the thread 

 as she proceeds, and guiding it with one of her hind feet, 

 so that it may not touch surrounding objects of any kind. 



When the new thread has been 

 carried half round the circle, 

 she secures it to the boundary, 

 stretching it diametrically across 

 the centre of the space. A 

 second thread is laid down in 

 like manner, crossing the first 

 at its centre, and after this the 

 work proceeds rapidly, until 

 twenty or thirty radii have 

 been fixed. During these pre- 

 liminary operations the spider 

 spider, showing the eyes (four sometimes rests, as though her 



pairs), the poison-fangs and the -, j j-.,- - 



jointed palps. plan required meditation, but 



no sooner are the marginal 



lines firmly stretched and the first radii spun, than she 

 continues her labour rapidly and without pause. Pro- 

 ceeding to the centre, she pulls each thread with her feet 

 to ascertain its strength, breaking any one that seems 

 defective, and replacing it by a fresh one. When satisfied 

 about this, she leads a spiral line from the centre to the 

 margin of the net, the innermost turns being close together, 

 but the outer ones much more open. This preliminary 

 spiral is only a temporary scaffolding, to be replaced by 

 a permanent spiral of different construction. Starting 

 anew from the periphery, where the first spiral line ended, 

 she draws a second spiral thread towards the centre, and 

 glues it to all the radii as it crosses them. The thread is 



FIG. 50. Head of garden 



