Tke StnictuiY ami Hiibits of Sfidrrs. 63 



She stops occasionally at the centre, turns 

 around, and pulls at the threads one after 

 another, and spins here and there short cross- 

 lines to hold them more firmly. She seems, 

 by thus feeling the rays, to decide where to 

 put in the next one, and does it alw'ays in 

 such a way as to keep tight what has been 

 done before. WTien the rays are finished to 

 her satisfaction, the spider begins at tlie cen- 

 tre to spin a spiral line across them, Fig. 2S, 

 rf, .?, «^ ,- the turns of the spiral being as far 

 apart as the spider can conveniently reach. She 

 climbs across from one ray to the next, hold- 

 ing her thread carefully off with one of the 

 hind-feet, till she gets to the right point, and 

 then turns up her abdomen, and touches the 

 ray with her spinnerets, thus fastening the 

 cross-thread to it The figure shows her in 

 this position, WTien this spiral has been car- 

 ried to the outside of the web, the spider begins 

 there another and closer one. Fig. 28, of thread 

 of a different kind, WTiile the first thread 

 was smooth, the latter is covered with a sticky 

 liquid, which soon collects on it in drops, and 

 makes it adhere to any thing that touches it 



