Mrs. Epera’s Spinning-Machine 














what has happened, for these dents are 
the spots where the ends of the mus- 
cles on the inside are 
fastened to the walls of 
the body. 
The spinning - machine 


the abdomen on the are | | 
under side. It is com- ae | 
posed of six blunt pro- i | 
jections that resemble finger-tips. 
These are called spinnerets, or some- | 
times spinners. Hvery spinneret is | 
pierced at the end with hundreds of 
tiny, tube-like openings. It is through | 
these tubes that the delicate silk for 
Mrs. Epeira’s weaving is drawn out. 
On the inside of the abdomen, just 
above the spinnerets, is a bunch of lit- 
tle pouches or sacs. From each pouch 
a small duct leads to one of the tube- 
like openings on the spinnerets. ‘These 
pouches are glands that secrete a clear, 
3 30 






