72 NATURE’S CRAFTSMEN 
they produce at their pleasure silken rope, satin, 
felt, wadding, and ribbon, and then ornament the 
whole with an embroidery design! How do they 
do it? Examination of the spinneret does not al¬ 
together answer the query, though it does explain 
in a measure the mechanical part. The spin¬ 
nerets are small finger forms with tiny sieve-like 
holes distributed over their surface. These holes 
are in truth little tubes, and the large female 
spiders have as many as a hundred of these little 
spinning tubes on each spinneret. The tubes 
are not all alike; different kinds of tubes pro¬ 
duce different kinds of silk. But how does the 
little worker control her machinery? What 
magic power in the little insignificant-looking 
wedge-shaped head enables her to turn out first 
one intricate pattern, then another? How does 
she produce just the colors she desires? ‘ I see 
the results,’ says Fabre, who knew more about 
insects than any one else has ever learned, 4 but I 
do not understand the machinery, and still less 
the process. It beats me altogether.’ 
“After the nest is finished, the banded spider 
moves aimlessly away without a backward glance. 
She has used up the very last ounce of her en¬ 
ergy, and she is content to leave the result of her 
efforts to time. Small good it would do her to 
return to her web, even if she remembered its lo¬ 
cation. Her silk is all gone. She has not the 
