XIV WEBS 343 



of fresh flakes falling into his sight, and twinkling like stars as 

 they turned their sides toward the sun." The ascent of a hill 

 300 feet in height did not in the least enable him to escape the 

 shower, which showed no sign of diminution. 



The mortality among very young spiders must be exceedingly 

 great ; indeed, this is indicated by the large number of eggs laid 

 by many species, an unfailing sign of a small proportion of 

 ultimate survivors. We shall have, by and by, to speak of some 

 of their natural enemies, but apart from these their numbers are 

 sadly reduced by the rigours of the weather, and appreciably also 

 by their tendency to cannibalism. A thunderstorm will often 

 destroy a whole brood, or they may perish from hunger in the 

 absence of an adequate supply of insects minute enough for their 

 small snares and feeble jaws. In the latter case they sometimes 

 feed for a time on one another, and it is even said that two or 

 three of a brood may be reared on no other food than their 

 unfortunate companions. 



The large and handsome Garden-spider, Epeh^a diademata, 

 has been known, when well fed, to construct six cocoons, each 

 containing some hundreds of eggs, and some species are even 

 more fertile, while their adult representatives remain stationary, 

 or even diminish in number. 



Spider-Webs. — Some account has already been given of the 

 external and internal spinning organs of Spiders. Witliin the 

 body of the animal the silk is in the form of a gummy fluid ; and 

 this, being emitted in exceedingly fine streams, solidifies as- it 

 meets the air. It cannot be shot out to any distance, but the 

 animal usually draws it out by its hind legs, or attaches it to a 

 spot, and moves away by walking or allowing itself to drop. It 

 has some power of checking the output, and can stop at will at 

 any point of its descent ; but the sphincter muscles of the 

 apertures are but weak, and by steady winding the writer has 

 reeled out a hundred yards of the silk, the flow of which was 

 only then interrupted by the spider rubbing its spinnerets 

 together and breaking the thread. 



There is, of course, no true spinning or interweaving of 

 threads in the process, but parallel silken lines are produced, 

 varying in number according to the special purpose for which 

 they are designed, and sometimes adhering more or less to one 

 another on account of their viscidity and closeness. 



