The Life of the Spider 



The egg-pocket disappears, drowned in this 

 exquisite wadding. 



The balloon-shape is already outlined; the 

 top of the work tapers to a neck. The 

 Spider, moving up and down, tacking first to 

 one side and then to the other, from the very 

 first spray marks out the graceful form as 

 accurately as though she carried a compass 

 in her abdomen. 



Then, once again, with the same sudden- 

 ness, the material changes. The white silk 

 reappears, wrought into thread. This is the 

 moment to weave the outer wrapper. Be- 

 cause of the thickness of the stuff and the 

 density of its texture, this operation is the 

 longest of the series. 



First, a few threads are flung out, hither 

 and thither, to keep the layer of wadding in 

 position. The Epeira takes special pains 

 with the edge of the neck, where she fashions 

 an indented border, the angles of which, pro- 

 longed with cords or lines, form the main sup- 

 port of the building. The spinnerets never 

 touch this part without giving it, each time, 

 until the end of the work, a certain added 

 solidity, necessary to secure the stabihty of the 

 balloon. The suspensory indentations soon 

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