2o8 
NATURE NOTES. 
extent without once breaking. I began to think I had happed 
on a grand commercial discovery, and, indeed, considering how 
freel}’ my pets provided me with nests, I am not at all sure that 
something could not be made out of it yet. However, the first 
lot of eggs, like all the rest, had not been impregnated and came 
to nought. I never found a male of the species, though I had 
great hopes of one. It was somewhat smaller in body than mine 
and much more lively, so it was caught and introduced into the 
same box with the other. There was quarrelling and fighting 
enough to set up half a dozen families, and knowing that female 
spiders were wont to bully their lords my hopes rose ; but when 
one fine morning I discovered two nests in the box, I had to put 
up with my disappointment. Space being so limited, these two 
had to be content with a common web, and it was the funniest 
thing in the world to watch them fight for a half-way fly. 
Spinoza was once thought very silly for laughing himself sick 
over a tournament of spiders, but I must confess to being wholly 
at one with that philosopher on that point at least. They did 
not appear ever to hurt each other much until one tragic day. 
They had been for some time without food and were ravenous. 
A fly got into the web between them and both charged upon it. 
After the usual skirmish the smaller one was driven back, and 
retired in high dudgeon to nurse her wrath. She waited until 
her successful rival was completely absorbed in the juicy meal, 
and then suddenly took a gigantic resolve. This was nothing 
less than to spin up both eater and eaten together in one web. 
It was a trick they had often tried on each other before, but it 
was always a case of diamond cut diamond. This time, how- 
ever, the larger one was so intent on her meal that she did not 
notice the spinning until she was fairly in the toils; even then I 
thought she would escape as she had alwa3's done ; but the little 
one, redoubling her efforts when she felt her advantage, had her 
completel}' tied up in a twinkling, and then a scientific bite or 
two in the right place finished the tragedy before I had time to 
interfere. The proud victor made huge efforts to devour this 
companion of hers, half as large again as herself, but could not 
manage more than her own bulk. 
Whether it was in consequence of this cannibalism or not, I 
cannot sa)', but the survivor ne^■er throve after it. She first 
became listless, and then her legs began to drop off one by one. 
With four legs left she could still spin up a fly, and that to her was 
the main end of existence. When, however, she was reduced to 
three, it was her minimum for a steady hold on the web. I was 
beginning to wonder what she would do if she dwindled down to 
a pendulum on two hooks, when she solved the problem by ceas- 
ing to struggle against fate. On the whole they lived rather 
longer under my care than the\' would have done in the garden, 
and I think they were fairlj'^ happy, in spite of my numerous 
experiments. Thej" Avere great fun while thej’ lasted, but when 
they died the spider season was over, and the next year other 
