The Garden Spiders: My Neighbour 



resources. The silk-glands may be exhausted 

 after the laying of the great spiral; and to 

 repeat the same expenditure immediately is 

 out of the question. I want a case where : 

 in there could be no appeal to any such 

 exhaustion. I obtain it, thanks to my 

 assiduity. 



While I am watching the rolling of the 

 spiral, a head of game rushes full tilt into the 

 unfinished snare. The Epeira interrupts her 

 work, hurries to the giddy-pate, swathes him 

 and takes her fill of him where he lies. Dur- 

 ing the struggle, a section of the web has torn 

 under the weaver's very eyes. A great gap 

 endangers the satisfactory working of the net. 

 What will the spider do in the presence of 

 this grievous rent? 



Now or never is the time to repair the 

 broken threads : the accident has happened 

 this very moment, between the animal's legs; 

 it is certainly known and, moreover, the rope- 

 works are in full swing. This time there is 

 no question of the exhaustion of the silk- 

 warehouse. 



Well, under these conditions, so favorable 

 to darning, the Epeira does no mending at 

 all. She flings aside her prey, after taking a 

 265 



