The Garden Spiders; Building the Web 



the eye, but cannot stand the test of strict 

 measurement. Mathematical precision would 

 be superfluous here. No matter, we are 

 amazed at the result obtained. How does 

 the Epeira come to succeed with her difficult 

 problem, so strangely managed? I am still 

 asking myself the question. 



The laying of the radii is finished. The 

 Spider takes her place in the centre, on the 

 little cushion formed of the inaugural sign- 

 post and the bits of thread left over. Sta- 

 tioned on this support, she slowly turns round 

 and round. She is engaged on a delicate piece 

 of work. With an extremely thin thread, she 

 describes from spoke to spoke, starting from 

 the centre, a spiral line with very close coils. 

 The central space thus worked attains, in the 

 adults' webs, the dimensions of the palm of 

 one's hand; in the younger Spiders' webs, it 

 is much smaller, but it is never absent. For 

 reasons which I will explain in the course of 

 this study, I shall call it, in future, the 

 'resting-floor.' 



The thread now becomes thicker. The 

 first could hardly be seen; the second is plainly 

 visible. The Spider shifts her position with 

 great slanting strides, turns a few times, mov- 



