Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-31
WONDERFUL SPINNING MACHINE.

The Busy Little House spider the Most In
genious of Viewers.
B. G. Johns N. A., in The Quiver.J
From the palace of the king down to the
poorest hovel of the peasant the house
spider finds home in some quiet nook or
other. Among the ra ters of the roof, along
the smooth surface of the ceiling and in the
corners of the window, where there are flies,
there. sooner or later, Madam Spider is sure
to be found. And there she spins her fairy
like, cunning web. ever y line drawn as
truly as the cleverest mathematician could
draw it with scale, compasses and ruler. II
you examine a spider you will find at
the hinder part oil the abdomen four or
six little projections. like tiny teats, each
pierced with q tiny hole. through which
comes thread of such infinite fneness
that it is scarcely visible to the eve. This is
her "spinneret,' or weaving machine, by
which she spins together the four or six
strands into a fairy rope strong enough to
build her web, or to support her own weig ht
as she hangs floating in the air. The silk
itself is stpred up inside her in the form OF
a sticky gum, which, in some wondrous
fashion, on being exposed to the air, Instant
ly dries up into thread of fine, hard silk.
Taking, then, drop OF this gum, she gent
ly draws out OF it a long thread, and having
fastened one end Of it to the ra ter, or twig,
lets herself slowly down, spinning as she
goes. stopping where she will or swinging to
and fro like the pendulum Of clock.
By and by, she touches the edge of some
other beam, or bush, or wall, or goes down
to the ground, but always ready to spin a
thread or mount nimbly back by the one,
The situations which the spiders choose for
their nests are as various as their plans of
building. Some prefer the open air, and
hang the fatal network up among the
shrubs or plants, where flies and sm al in
sects abound; others choose the warmer,
darker corners inside the house, old stable,
or barn; but whichever is chosen, there she
spins the same wonder ul thread of silk, so
fine that it cannot be wound off alone, yet
so tough and strong as to stand both rain
and wind, and bear the weight of the
cunning weaver and a score of flies
One hundred and fifty yards of it-all that
can be drawn from single insect-weish
about one-twentleth of grain; and it is said
that rope of it one inch thick (if it could
be made) would bear weight of 20 tons,
and so exceed in strength bar of steel OF
equal thickness. The silk is Of two colors,
golden and silver-gray, drawn from separate
parts Of the spinneret, and quite different in
kind and texture; the yellow, the stronger
and more elastic, being for strong, straight,
outer edges of the web, and the silver for the
swaying, bending cross-beams. See, now,
with what skill and wisdom the little house,
spider sets to work when once she has chosen
the place and fixed on the size of web in
corner of the ceiling.
First having pressed her spinners against
one of the walls, and thus glued fast to it
one end of her rhread, she then walks along
the wall to the opposite side, and there fast
ems the other end. This thread, which forms
the selvedge of her net, must be very strong;
and she therefore goes over the same ground
three or even four times, so as to make all
secure. This done, she draws other threads
across and across in various directions, fill
ing up the spaces between by running from
ope to the other, and joining them together
again and again until the tiny sheet of
gauge is finished, fastened into its place,
and set just at the best angle, upright,
horizontal, or sideways, for catching her
tiny prey. Many other wonderful things
might be told Of the common spider, but
enough has been said to show the beauty
and perfection of this most wonderous spin
ming machine the world has ever seen, all
managed and guided by one little tiny in
sect, who serves no apprenticeship and has
no visible teacher, and vet the very moment
she has TO get her own living is as absolute
a master OF the craft as if she had been at
work for a 100 years. She spins her own
silk, twists it into thread, and weaves them
into such fairy lacework as the science and
art of man can never match.