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with the gold colored silk, the radii and guys and stays with the 
silver colored silk, while the pale blue was found wrapped about 
the prey after the spider seized it, it was thought by one observer 
there that spiders may use one or all of the spinners at will. 
The substance of the silken web, although a viscid fluid within 
the spider, instantly becomes dry on reaching the air. The fila¬ 
ments expressed from the numberless ducts which lead from 
within out upon the surface of a single spinneret unite in a single 
thread and become the line from that spinner; at a little distance 
this line unites with that of the twin spinner, and these two unite 
with those of the four remaining spinners, and it takes all together 
to make that fine, almost impalpable thread of silk with which 
the spider weaves his web, or by which he hangs suspended from 
the ceiling. 
It will be seen that the spider carries in his pocket a power- 
loom that needs not water nor steam to run it; the means for the 
instantaneous creation of a suspension bridge ; and the most per¬ 
fect fire escape ever invented. 
Having spoken of the process of spinning the silk, let us ex¬ 
amine the labor of manufacturing this silk into various products. 
And first, the spider weaves with this silk beautiful, soft cocoons 
for its eggs and young. These are in various shapes, sometimes 
long pendent shaped bags, sometimes in the shape of an inverted 
wine-glass, sometimes round. They are woven very closely of 
compact silk and some of them are quite elegant productions. 
Some species of spider, however, do not take this trouble, but 
make use of leaves, or the two halves of a seed-pod which they 
fasten together by taking two or three turns of silk about them. 
The next class of manufactures from the silk, to which we shall 
refer, is the building of nests. Not all spiders are web builders, 
many taking their prey by direct attack, without the use of a web. 
These are called hunting and field spiders. Some of these hunt 
in the night retreating to their nests during the day ; some hunt in 
the grass by daylight; some in the woods ; some on the top of 
the water of ponds and rivers, as we shall see presently. All 
these make no use of the web, but they spin silk, many of them 
to line their nests. To these they retire to devour their prey. 
The nests of spiders are among the most remarkable curiosities 
t 
