70 
NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
“ No, they are suitors,” advised Uncle John, 
“ and rather poor specimens when all is said. 
They are indifferent spinners, and too lazy to 
stay long in a house of their own building. They 
spend their time as pensioners like the commen¬ 
sals.—You will note, Tommy, that the two do not 
look anything alike.—By and by, our haughty 
Madam will give up looking for a specimen 
worthy of her, and accept one of them for her 
husband. But, poor chap, his joy is likely to be 
short. She is exceedingly notionate and hard to 
please; one false step and his life pays the forfeit! 
“ The female spiders are even more talented 
mothers than they are hunters and spinners, and 
the banded spider is no exception to the rule. 
When she gets ready to make her nest, my lady 
will abandon her web forever, and search out a 
nice warm sheltered place in a grassy hummock. 
The nest itself is far more of a marvel than the 
birds’ nests we were talking about the other day. 
It is about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and looks 
like a balloon turned upside down. The ‘ neck ’ 
is cut quite short, and crowned at the top with a 
curious little butter-bowl arrangement, with a 
scalloped rim, and the corners drawn out into 
moorings which hold it firmly attached to the 
grass of its shelter. A little silky padding covers 
the bowl. The rest of the nest is wrapped in a 
heavy covering of thick white satin, often curi- 
