Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-10-17
PECULIAR PETS.
A SCIENTIST WHO is FOND OF
RATS AND SPIDERS.
Elects Of Music on Norway Rats ana
White Mice-Watching a Spider
Make Her Web-How the.
Prey is Captured.

HluulO VI u
naturalist of this city few days ago,
Star representative was somewhat sur
prised to hear the low notes OF flute
stealing from the apartment he was about
to enter. He found the learned natural
list performing to large audience, con-
sisting of pair of rats and half dozen
beautiful pink-eyed white micel See
ing the surprise of the Star man the
professor proceeded to explain the stu
alton.
"Perhaps you know" said he, "that
1 prefer natural history to specialties OF
my general profession. Naturalists hold
that most animals are sagacious in pro-
portion as they cultivate society. l was
induced to the companionship OF these
SINGULAR animals on account of the his
toricol incident of poor Latude, who,
during his thirty years confinement in
the Bastile made companions OF the rats
that sought his dungeon cell, and whiled
away many a tedious hour in teaching
the self-imprisoned rodents tricks and
traits. One day when his straw bed had
been changed he discovered piece oil
elder stem in the newly-brought straw.
OF this piece of elder with buckle
from his clothes, after days Of arduous
labor, he fashioned a sort of fageolet.
The first notes from his simple reel
startled the rats, and one by one they
came crawling around him as if charmed
by the simple notes, and he finally taught
them many little performances to the
magic spell of music.
81 have not yet acquired the same af-
fection for or with my family, as you see
around; but have developed some in
timacy between US. See that mastodon
Norway rat in the cage stand upon its
hind legs and half reach for this morsel
of meat-now the other, the mate, seems
to beseech for its portion. Upon the
lifting of my finger toward them they
hop around each other like trained dogs
"A little whistle and they both sit down
quietly to finish the repast I have just
given them"
The little white mice ran at liberty
around the room, going and coming rs
they pleased from their cage and running
under the chairs, perfectly unconscious
of fear. The professor then played sew
eral low notes on his flute, when the rats
dropped their morsels and ran and
climbed the wires OF the cage as il In
ecstacies, while the little white mice
gathered in a group in the centre OF the
room, their little pink eyes dilating in
seeming delight. The music ceasing
both the rats and mice returned to their
former inattenticn.
The bay window Of the professors
room was a regular partier Of native and
exotic Towering plants, and from one
corner of its ceiling hung a spiders
web that would made an expert OF
Valenciennes green with envy. "Pelis-
sons and Others experiments with spi-
ders and all the good that they have said
of the much maligned insects induced
me-" said the professor, ''to spare this
beautiful wed and to watch the habits OF
its builder and occupant, which l have
preserved for nearly two years. The re-
suit of my observation as pasime upon
the habits of this particular spider has
been highly entertaining and instructive,
and somewhat at variance with the
description of naturalists generally.
This is common web weaving
house spider. The species Of spider
that roams about in search of prey
does not weave nets, but lives in holes OF
fissures, whence it may retreat from dan
ger. The web-weaving spider lies in
covert in one corner of his net and as soon
as an insect becomes entangled he rushes
upon his victim, piercing him and emit
ting into the wound fatal poison. OF
all the insects that have ever studied
the spider is the most sagacious, and may
be taught a confidence bordering upon
affection, although it seems to have been
formed by nature for condition of con-
slant warfare. Its head and breast arc
perfectly mailed, its legs end in claws
like lances to ward off an assailant. tt
vision is acute, although its eyes are GOV
cred with a transparent horny substance
TO protect them, and above its mouth i
has forccps with which to kill its prey
already caught in its net. But the spe
cies rely chiefly upon their net to entrar
the game, and upon which they expcnd
their greatest labor and ingenuity. They
are of great variety and many OF then
very poisonous-the common black spidei
of the non web-weaving variety more cs
pecially with us here.
"Nature has furnished the body OF this
little creature With glutinous LIQUID
which itspins into thread cOarser or finer
as it chooses. In order to fix its thrcat
when it begins to weave it emits small
drop Of its liquid against the wall, which
hardening by degrees serves to hold th'
thread very firmly. Then as 1t recede
the thread lengthens aud when the spide
has come to the place where the othe
| end Of the thread should be fixed, gather
ing up with its claws the thread whicl