The Silk-Combers 
You may think that this Spinner 
has a great deal of hair, since she 
possesses two combs, but she has not. 
She has another use for her combs than 
that of hair-dressing. 
Mrs. Epeira and each of her friends 
that we called upon have six spin- 
nerets. ‘This little Miss Comber is 
not satisfied with six fingers in her 
spinning-machine. She must have an 
additional organ. This organ lies just 
in front of her spinners and looks like 
a small, oblong plate. The plate is 
full of minute holes which are very 
much smaller than the holes in the 
spinners, and those you know are so 
small that you cannot see them with- 
out the aid of a microscope. ‘This 
porous plate is called the cribellum. 
But what has all this to do with the 
combs? If we can catch Miss Comber 
building her house we shall see for our- 
selves what her combs are good for. 
83 

