23 AMERICAN SPIDERS AND THEIR SPINNINGWORK. 
Again, it is obvious that in cases where an Orbweaver is dependent upon 
the wind to carry her foundation lines from the starting point to a point 
of attachment, the length of that line will necessarily be deter- 
mined by circumstances. The cord may float off a goodly dis- 
tance before striking an object, or may entangle soon. In the 
latter case, as the foundation line will be limited, the snare will be dimin- 
ished accordingly. I have known a Furrow spider to make a web a 
foot wide one night, and the next night, when becalmed and prevented 
from stretching a foundation in her old site, spin an orb four inches in 
diameter. 
Young spiders make small webs, and invariably very perfect ones. The 
irregular, abridged, or patched snares which one sometimes sees, when not 
Modified 
by Wind. 
Fic. 217. Typical orbwebs, Epeira strix. 
the result of wear and tear, are those of adults; never, I believe, of young 
Orbweavers. 
The following are a few measurements of the orbs of some of our com- 
mon species. Epeira insularis: inches, six by six; thirteen by eleven; four- 
teen by fourteen; twenty by fourteen; fourteen by fourteen. Epeira strix: 
two by one and one-half; twelve by eight; nine and seyen-eighths by nine 
and one-half. These are measurements of the orb alone, not including the 
foundation spaces. It will be seen that only a part of the above orbs are 
nearly circular; more frequently, perhaps, they are somewhat elliptical, the 
vertical diameter being the longer. The central space occupies about one- 
third or from one-third to one-fourth of the orb, the spiral space on either 
side about equaling it in width. The hub approximates the geographical 
