170 
NATURE S CRAFTSMEN 
when they were born. What has kept them alive 
all this time? Baby chicks, you know, swallow 
the yolk of the egg just before coming out of the 
shell. This is all the food they require for forty- 
eight hours. Can it be that there is some such 
provision made for the months the little spider- 
lings go unfed? Fabre thinks this unlikely. The 
time is too long. To be sure, the mother herself 
does not eat a great deal during this period, and 
she stays plump and in good condition. Indeed, 
she even puts on fat. But we know the accom¬ 
modating stomach she has; a good gorging meal 
now and then and she can exist in perfect content. 
And this she has, for at irregular intervals she 
comes up into her watch-tower, bearing her 
swarming, toppling burden, and waits patiently 
for the ill-fated passer-by. When her prey is 
overcome, however, the youngsters show no man¬ 
ner of interest in it; nor does she make any effort 
to persuade them to join her at the feast. To all 
appearances they are not hungry, and she knows 
it. What keeps them alive? 
“ It would not take much just to exist, but the 
spiderlings do more than this. Watch them for 
a time, and you will see that they are far from 
being in a state of rest. Each one has to brace 
its little self and cling to its mother’s back and to 
its brothers and sisters to keep from falling off. 
When a tumble does come, they are up in an in- 
