







The Spinner Family 
watery liquid. ‘This means that a por- 
tion of the food eaten by Mrs. Epeira 
is digested or changed into a peculiar 
fluid which is stored away in these tiny 
pouches. 
When this little lady is in need of 
some silk, she gently presses her spin- 
nerets against an object and forces a 
small amount of the fluid through the 
tube openings. This adheres to the 
object and then she moves her spin- 
nerets in just the right way to draw 
the liquid from the tubes. The in- 
stant the liquid meets the air it is 
hardened into a thread. 
If you have ever examined an ordi- 
nary sewing-thread you know that it 
is made up of a great many small 
strands twisted together. That is why 
it is so strong. Mrs. Epeira knows 
well enough that one of the delicate 
threads drawn from a single tube is 
too slight to be of any use to her, so 
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