istic canons under the shelter of my cages.

Remember the magnificent oval guard-room, running into a vestibule at
either end; the egg-chamber slung in the centre and isolated on every
side by half a score of pillars; the front-hall expanding into a wide
mouth and surmounted by a network of taut threads forming a trap. The
semi-transparency of the walls allows us to see the Spider engaged in her
household affairs. Her cloister of vaulted passages enables her to
proceed to any point of the star-shaped pouch containing the eggs.
Indefatigable in her rounds, she stops here and there; she fondly feels
the satin, listens to the secrets of the wallet. If I shake the net at
any point with a straw, she quickly runs up to enquire what is happening.
Will this vigilance frighten off the Ichneumon and other lovers of
omelettes? Perhaps so. But, though this danger be averted, others will
come when the mother is no longer there.

Her attentive watch does not make her overlook her meals. One of the
Locusts whereof I renew the supply at intervals in the cages is caught in
the cords of the great entrance-hall. The Spider arrives hurriedly,
snatches the giddy-pate and disjoints his shanks, which she empties of
their contents, the best part of the insect. The remainder of the
carcass is afterwards drained more or less, according to her appetite at
the time. The meal is taken outside the guard-room, on the threshold,
never indoors.

These are not capricious mouthfuls, serving to beguile the boredom of the
watch for a brief while; they are substantial repasts, which require
several sittings. Such an appetite astonishes me, after I have seen the
Crab Spider, that no less ardent watcher, refuse the Bees whom I give her
and allow herself to die of inanition. Can this other mother have so
great a need as that to eat? Yes, certainly she has; and for an
imperative reason.

At the beginning of her work, she spent a large amount of silk, perhaps
all that her reserves contained; for the double dwelling--for herself and
for her offspring--is a huge edifice, exceedingly costly in materials;
and yet, for nearly another month, I see her adding layer upon layer both
to the wall of the large cabin and to that of the central chamber, so
much so that the texture, which at first was translucent gauze, becomes
opaque satin. The walls never seem thick enough; the Spider is always
working at them. To satisfy this lavish expenditure, she must
i