Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-11-25
Young Edwards on the Spider.

Young Edwards on the Spider.
A CORRESPONDENT OF the Springfield
Republican, in making mention Of Prof.
Edward S. MOrse's book, entitled "First
Book on Zoology" gives the following
Interesting account Of the Balloon Spider,
by President Jonathan Edwards, written
as early as 1715, when he was only twelve
years old. The account was written in a
letter to an English correspondent of his
fathers, and may be found in the first vol
m Of Dwights edition of Edwards.
Young Edwards says:
although everything belonging to this
insect (the spider is admirable there are
some phenomena relating to them more
particularly wonderful. Everybody that
is used to the country knows their march
ing il the az from one tree to another,
sometimes at the distance Of five or six
rods. Nor could one go out in a dewv
morning at the latter end of August and
the beginning of September but he should
see multitudes Of webs, made visible by
thed dew that hangs on them, reaching
from one tree branch and shrub to anOth-
er; which webs are commonly thought to
be made in the night because they appear
only in the morning, whereas II Of
them are made in the night, for these
spiders never come out in the night
when it is dark, as the dew is
then falling. But these webs NAV
be seen well enough in the day time,
by an observing eye, by their re-
Section in the sun-beams. And the
spiders themselves may very often be
seen travelling from one stage to another
amongst the trees in a very u-naccountable
manner. But | have often seen that
which is much more astonishing. In very
calm and serene days in the f0re-men-
toned time Of year, standing at some dis
lance behind the end of an house or some
other opake body, so as just to hide the
disk of the sun and keep off his dazzling
rays, and looking along close by the side
OF 1t, L have seen a vast multitude Of little
shining webs and glistening strings bright
" rejecting he sunbeams; and some of
them of great length and Of such a height
that one would think they were tackled to
the vault of the heavens and would be
burnt like tow in the sun. It is wonder
full at what a distance these webs NAV
plainly be seen. Some that are at a great
distance appear Git cannot be less than
several thousand times as big as they
ought. [ believe they appear under as
great an angle as a body Of a foot in di-
ameter ought to do at such a distance; so
greatly doth brightness increase the APP
parent bigness of bodies at a distance, as
is observed Of the fixed stars.
But that which is very astonishing is
that very often appear at the end Of these
webs spiders sailing in the air with them;
which l have often beheld with wonder
ment and pleasure, and showed to others.
And since [ have seen these things | have
been very conversant with spiders; re-
solving, if possible, to find out the
mysteries of these their astonishing works.
And l have been so happy as very fire.
quently to see their manner of working;
that when a spider would go from one tree
to another, or would fly in the air, he first
lets himself down from the tWig he stands
OF by a web, and then, laying hold Of it
with his fore feet, and bearing himself by
that, puts out a web which is drawn out OF
his tail with infinite ease in the gentle
moving air, to what length the spider
pleaSes. Now, sir, it is certain
that these webs, when they first proceed
from the spider are so rare a substance
that they are lighter than the air, because
they will ascend in it las they will i'm
mediately in a calm air., andnever descend
except driven by a wind; wherefore It's
certain. So that, if We should suppose
any such time wherein the air is per-
fectly calm, this web is so easily drawn
out of the spiders tail that if the end
be once out barely the levity of it is suffi-
cient to draw it out to any length; where
fore, if it don't happen that the end of this
web catches by a tree or some other body,
till there is so long a web drawn out that
its levity shall be so great as more than to
counterbalance the gravity of the spider,
then, according to the universally &C
knowledged laws Of nature, the web and
spider together will ascend and not de-
scend in the air. And in this
way, sir, I have m%ultitudes of times seen
| spiders mount away into the air from a
stick in my hands, with a vast train of this
silver web before them; for, if the spider
be disturbed upon the stick by shaking of
1t, he will presently in this manner leave
it. Only those that would make
the experiment must take notice that it is
not every sort of spider that is a flying
spider-but those spiders that keep on
branches of trees and shrubs ere the flying
spiders. They delight most in walnut
trees, and are that sort of spiders that
make those curious network polygonal
webs that are so frequently to be seen in
the latter end of the year. There are more
of this sort of spiders by far than of any
other"