
The Building of her House 
See! she is sending out a stream of silk 
from her spinnerets. How the filmy 
threads glitter in the light of our lamp; 
for remember the sun has set, and our 
lantern must aid us in watching Mrs. 
Epeira at her work. For a few mo- 
ments she allows the breeze to carry 
the threads far out from the spmning 
machine, then with a quick movement 
she makes the thread fast by touching 
her spinnerets to the twig. Again she 
quietly waits; but this time she has 
turned with her head in the direction 
in which the threads blew. If we look 
closely we see that she is holding one 
of the threads with the claw of her 
front foot. From the foot the thread 
stretches to the hooks on her palps, 
and from these down the middle line 
of her body to the spinnerets. She is 
patiently waiting for the free end of 
the line to catch on some support. 
Every now and then she pulls gently 
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