St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1881-11-19
ABOUT SPIDERS.
4 SPIDERS ENGINEERING WORK.

A very curious ana interesting
spectacle was seen Monday after
noon in the Office Of livery stable
IN this city. Against the wall Of
The room stands a tall desk, and I'M
der this a small spider. not larger
than q common pea, had construct
I'D an extensive web, reaching down
TO the floor.
About half-past eleven o'clock
Monday forenoon it was observed
that the spider had ensnared
Young mouse, By passing the fila
ments of her web around its tail.
When 6rst seen the mouse had its
hind feet off the floor, and could
barely touch the floor with its fore
feet. The spider was full of bust
ness. running up and down the line,
occasionally biting the mouse's tail,
making it struggle desperately. Its
efforts to escape we're unavailing, as
the slender fIaments about its tail
were too strong for it to break. In
O short time it vas seen that the
spider was slowly hosting its vic
tim into the air. By two O'Clock in
the afternoon the mouse could
barely touch the floor with its fore
feet; by dark the point of its nose
was an inch above the floor. At
nine o'clock at night the n ouse was
still alive, but made no sign except
when the spider descended and bit
its tail At this time it was an inch
and half from the floor. Tuesday
morning the mouse was dead and
hung three inches from the floor.
The news of the novel sight soon
became circulated. and hundreds of
people visited the stable to witness
It. The mouse is q small one, less
than half grown, measuring about
one and a half inches from the point
of its nose to the root of its tail.
How the spider succeeded in en-
! sharing it is not known. The me-
| chanical ingenuity of the spider,
which enables her to raise q body
| which must weigh forty or City
times as M lch as herself, has been
the subject of great deal Of COM
I-ment and speculation. and no salts
factory solution Of the problem has
been found. All agree that it is 8
most remarkable case, and one that
would be received with utter In
credulity. if it were not amply
tested.
HOW SPIDER MAKES A BALLOON.
Rochester Democrat
! If you anchor pole in a body 0
water, leaving the pole above TIL
surface. and Put spider upon it
he will exhibit marvellous intelli
gence by his plans of escape. A
inst he will spin web several inch
es long, and hang to one end while
he allows the other to float off il
the wind, in the hope that it wi
strike some object Of course thi
plan proves failure, but the spide
is not discouraged. He waits unit
!, the wind changes, and than send
!. another silken bridge floating off i
another direction. Another failur
is followed by several other simils
! attempts, until all the points of til
compass have been tried. BIZ
neither the resources nor the re,
soning powers of the spider are e.
hausted. He climbs to the top
;. the poll and theoretically goes
- work to construct q silken balluo
= He has no hot air with which to il
. fate it, but he has the power
8 making it buoyant. When he &c
= his balloon finished he does not
: off upon the mere superstition tn
= it will carry him. as men Cften q
!. but he fastens it to guy-rope, Il
T. other end of which he attaches
the island pole upon which he is
prisoner. He then gets into |
aerial vehicle while it is made ia
y and tests it, to see whether its
y mansions are capable OF the work
% bearing him away. He often Tin
OF he has made it too small, in viii
e, case he bauls it down, takes it
ID apart, and constructs it on lare
ed and better plan. Aspider has be
'e- seen to make three different g
I'd looms. before be became satis 3
as az with his experiment He will th
tn get in, snap the guy-rope. and
on away to land as gracefully and
OF supremely independent of his g
We roundings as could we'll be im'
" ined.
DIS cu,
Ior Said the Raven to the Swallt
,al "Your beauty is but for the sunni
Al but mine will stand many winter
al, ,,,nro1 UDnrability