The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-05-29

highest point, and jostle and crowd one
another in their efforts to be at the ton
of the heap. The mother patiently en-
dures it for o time, but when they be-
come too thick over her eyes, she takes
her long fore-legs, which she uses as
feelers or hands, and reaches up and
scrapes off an armful, and holds them
straight in front of her. as if looking at
them, and perhaps giving them hom-
lily on manners. Soon she gently re-
leases them, slowly opening her arms,
aud they quietly take their places around
the edge of the tower, where they usually
remain until the mother goes below,
when they all follow. Upon her re-
appearance they are again stationed
upon her back.
When they were two weeks old they
strung innumerable lines of web across
the mothers back; this I soon found
was to enable them to dispose of their
baby-dresses. Up to this time thew hao
been piled upon her abdomen as well as
upon her thorax, but now these little
creatures, as if by common consent. en-
tirely forsook the abdomen as resting,
place, and devoted it exclusively to a
dressing-room. Sometimes two or three
are divestlng themselves by short line
of web to one of the lines which thew
have strung across the mother, and this
holds them firmly while they undress.
The shin cracks all around the thorax,
and is held only by the front edge; next
the abdomen is freed, and now comes
the struggle to free the legs. The little
one works and kicks vigorously, and
seems to have no very easy task, but
earnest perseverance brings it out of the
old dress in about fifteen minutes, but
it comes out perfectly exhausted and al
most lifeless. | take one upon nv
hand, where it lies limp and helpless for
several minutes, and then it gradually
comes back to life, and is soon as bright
and active as before.
Whence came the knowledge that i'm
PEELED these little creatures to forsake
the abdomen as a resting-place, and de-
vote it to this purpose? In the soft,
helpless condition that the removal of
the skin causes, it would not do for the
stronger ones to be moving about and
mixing up with the weaker. 1t is fully
week before they have all moulted, and
odd enough the mother looks with the
innumerable little ragged cast-off dresses
hanging all over the lines of web.
Naturalists tell US that young spiders
kill each other. But with this species l
could detect no such tendency. l kill one,
and lay it upon the edge of the tower,
and many of the little ones crawl over
it, but pay no attention to it whatever.
Finally the mother notices it, feels and
examines it with one of her fore-legs,
and then takes it in her mandibles and
shoots it across the jar, where she is in
the habit of throwing refuse material.
Neither will the young pay any atten-
ton to fly that kill and lay in their
path; but if the mother holds it in her
mandibles and brushes it, they crowd
around it, and seem to be slipping the
juices. And in the absence of other
food the mother brushes some of her
own babies, and holds them so that the
little cannibals can suck the juices.
The young do not leave the mother
all at the same time, but they 60 out in
detachments. When three weeks old
about dozen manifested disposition
to leave the maternal home. They run
up on the highest point of plant, and
remain there until 1 set the jar where
the plants can lean against the trunk of
a tree, and now they speedily run up to
the branches. The rest are quiet, stay
ing with the mother a week longer, but
now she manifests disposition to send
them adrift. She is no longer quiet and
patient, but frequently picks one up and
throws it across the jar, yet seems to be
careful not to injure it. She behaves
much in the same way that the higher
animals do in weaving their young.
1t is now bright sunny day in early
November, and large proportion of
these little reatures-fully fifty-seem
to be in great haste to leave. Like the
first, they also run up the body of
tree, and see no more of them. But
in the spring / shall probably find many
little burrows in the neighborhood OF
the tree, where they have settled down
as staid housekeepers.- Mary Treat, IN
Ha1per's for Mag.