The Life of the Spider 



The cotton of the poplar cannot, of 

 itself, supply a hanging pocket capable of 

 supporting the weight of the brood and 

 resisting the buffeting of the wind. 

 Rammed, entangled and packed together, 

 the flocks, similar to those which ordinary- 

 wadding would give if chopped up very 

 fine, would produce only an agglomeration 

 devoid of cohesion and liable to be dis- 

 pelled by the first breath of air. They 

 require a canvas, a woof, to keep them in 

 position. 



Tiny dead stalks, with fibrous barks, well 

 softened by the action of moisture and the 

 air, furnish the Penduline with a coarse tow, 

 not unlike that of hemp. With these liga- 

 ments, purged of ever}- woody particle and 

 tested for flexibiUt}- and tenacity, he winds 

 a number of loops round the end of the 

 branch which he has selected as a support 

 for his structure. 



It is not a very accurate piece of work. 

 The loops run clumsily and anyhow: some 

 are slacker, others tighter: but, when all is 

 said, it is solid, which is the main point. 

 Also, this fibrous sheath, the keystone of the 

 edifice, occupies a fair length of branch, 



