The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1885-09-05
THE FIRST INVENTOR,
by CHARLES MORRIS.

Bl CHARLES MORRIS.
Man takes immense credit to HIM
self for the many wonderful works he
has done, in digging mines and canals,
in tunnclling mountains, in building
bridges, in turning rivers from their
course, in walking on the waters, and
sailing through the air.
Yet all these things were done by
living beings long before he appeared
upon the earth. The busy beaver
built great dams across the course of
streams. Many insects sunk deep
mines, dug long canals, or made tun-
nels under the hills. Others built
bridges, and managed to fly and float
without wings or sails.
OF these creatures, one of the most
wonderful is the spider. We are apt to
view this odd shaped little netbuilder
with contempt and fear, and to shrink
from him as we would from a poison
bearing serpent. Yet all this is the
effect of unreasoning prejudice. The
spider is one of the most harmless of
all creatures, and can be freely han
died without the least danger to life
and limb.
And we might safely forgive our
little weaver his lack Of beauty for his
great usefulness. We consider him
our enemy, but he is really one of our
greatest friends. He does not get in
our way Or NEEDLE with our private
concerns, but only asks to be let alone
in his OUT fthe-way corner, where
only he is at home. And if by chance
he makes his appearance on table or
desk, sleeve or finger, we may be sure
that he is doing his best to get away.
He feels himself as much out of place
as we feel him to be, and if left to his
own devices will quickly emigrate to
less public situation.
Our special foes in this small world
are the buzzing flies and singing mos
quitoes, and the innumerable gnats
and midges which are SO annoyingly
fond of human company, and which
flirt and dance about us until we pray
for winter and relief
1t is here that the spider is our great
friend, for his whole labor of life is de-
voted to the removal from our path of
these troublesome insects, of which I'M
told millions are destroyed every year
by our uncouth ally. The insect plague
is bad enough as it is, but life in sum-
mer would be almost unbearable did
not the active spider come to our
rescue and make havoc in the endless
army of our foes.
Seeing here and there a spider web
holding the wings and limbs of few
devoured insects, we might imagine
that no important number of these
noxious creatures was destroyed. Yet
spiders are far more abundant than we
might fancy from this. Go out on a
dewy morning, and lock over a field
of waving grass, and you will probably
see it shining with myriads Of fine silken
lines, which seem to have sprung into
being, like Aladdins palace, in the
night. Yet, in fact, they were there
long before, though unobserved. 1t is
only the dew and the sun that bring
them so suddenly into sight. Every
where these lines are spread, and end
less hosts of minute flying nuisances
fall into them and perish.
But let us now consider our little
arachnid in another light-that Of
rival of man in the mechanic arts. OF
all the lower animals none but the ant
compares with the spider in the variety
of its instincts and industries, while by
the aid of its floating line the spider
performs teats which the greatest genius
in the ant world would attempt in vain.
Thus the spider is the primitive fish
erman. 1t trolls for the trout Of the
air with its far-reaching lines, and it
weaves these lines into an artistically
fashioned net, which it sets across the
path of its flying prey, as men drop
similar nets into rivers across the path
of their swimming victims.
To lie in wait for its prey this shrcwd
fisher constructs cunning lurking places
of intricately woven silken lines, which
sometimes become close and Comfor-
table tubes, or cylindrical palace halls,
lined with silk, and as neat and coy
as lady's boudoir. Here Master
Arachnid sits like true fisherman,
with his foot on a line that leads out
to his net, waiting eagerly for nibble.
If he feels the least pull on his fishing
line, he dashes out hastily to secure
his prey. But if some powerful crea
ture has rushed through his net, tear
ing it into ribbons, as sturgeon will
rush through and rend the net of a
shad fisher, he quietly mends his torn
net, and sets it again in the stream.
As the spider wove the first fishing
net, SO he invented the first flying
machine. And this is 4 continuance
far neatcr and safer than the balloon,