Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-18

edge of the frame, destroying the former spiral,
which Is not made of sticky web. not being de-
signed to be permanent for fly catching. Some
times Mistress Spider does not approve OF her
work and tears 1t all apart, 20 begin anew. One
way In which the weaver manifests her intelli-
gence Is by the judicious choice she makes of
places for her webs.
SPOT SHE Is APT TO SELECT
is q warm wall or the sunny side of a house
where the flies like to settle. Or she will spin
her snare before a bunch of bright flowers,
which insects are apt to seek for their sweets,
or she will place 1t in an opening like broken
window or among denseiy foliated bushes
where there Is a draft to carry victims into the
| trap. sometimes sp. der will spin 400 threads
OF some length in a bunch. break them all off
together and let them fly with the wind in all
directions. One or two out of the lot will catch
across between available points and give the
! desired start for the bridge. Then she fastens
the extremities of the accidental bridge with
new sticky threads-the other ones were dry
and proceeds to business. With the sixteen
combs that she has to hold the threads sepa-
rate, and finger claw on each foot besides,
Wherewith TO fasten the threads, she can per-
FORM her weaving operation with exceptional
dexterity. The second horizontal bridge be-
meath, is ordinarily made by going to point a
short distance below the upper bridge on one
side, fastening the thread on a convenient, pro-
jecting twig. climbing from there to the upper
bridge. running across 1t. then down the OPP
poslte side to the proper place, and finally
hauling In the slack"
yAGABoND SPIDERS.
DO all spiders spin webs?"
mo: some spiders are called vagabond
spiders for the reason that they do not spin
webs. The most interesting sort of vagabond
! spider Is the so-called trap door spider. which
makes box, often as big as your two fists OF
earth cemented into a large mass by the spiders
own excretion. The box has little trap door
at one end with strong elastic thread to serve
| as spring. Ire nest look like nothing but a
c!od OF dirt and the door springs to per-
tectly-even in the case OF those that have been
Kept for years as curios-that you cannot see
any trace OF an opening. Another vagabond
SPIDER nves III hole IN the ground a foot deep
win little nest On top OF the hole made of
small STICKS and grass. There is a very curious
weaving spider called the 'cossamer flying
spider. On warm fall day you vii! often
. find the air ahoat with spiders webs and il you
examine them you will find dozens of little
! spiders IN the webs. These gossamer spiders
! In pleasant autumn weather attach thread to
the ground and permit the breeze to blow them
way oil into the air. where they remain sus-
! pended, at anchor. tor DAYS at q time, often
miles and miles from spot to which they are
anchored"
SPIDERS FOES.
"Have spiders any enemies?'
PLENTY of them. Their worst foes are wasps.
/ - 't'h'iN VI dSJS-tuS SOIb liltI Uldhes
mud cells under the caves of hcases-always
fills its cells full of spiders The wasp of this
variety Catches a SPIDER often much heavier
and bigger than itself and first stings ii into
| insensbilty. The spider thus stung is rendered
senseiess. but noe dead; it is put into a state OF
| coma which lasts for long time. so tina, at
the END o. from one to three wears the spider
Is still asleep, as it were. though living. After
thus rendering the spider helpless the wasp
lays an egg III its body; the egg matches out
ana the young larva feeds the body of the
| spider until 1t is ready to so out and see the
world. This is natures way of reproducing
thal klnd OF Wasp. In South America monkeys
well as snakes, turtles and birds. Spiders have
| way that Is very curious of defending them
selves. If wasp, for instance approaches to
attack the spinner drops down to the ground
| by a thread, like O shot, and plays 'possum.
| But should 1t have.a yellow or otherwise con-
splcous back, it takes care to fall with its dark
| colored belly upward. so that it may lie among
the leaves or heritage unobserved."
USEFULNESS OF SPIDERS.
"What are spiders good for?'
For one thing, they eat all the insects they
meet that they can conquer, including mosqui-
| toes and bedbugs. There are very few collec-
tons of spiders in this country; the one at the
national museum Is yet an embryo There
are probably 5000 varieties of spiders in the
| United States. l have got together in my COL
ieClion ABOUT l,OOU varieties. some / have
gathered myself personally, others | have OBJ
| tanned through correspondence with collectors
| and others still l have secured by exchange
| The method of gathering them adopted by COL
| lectors Is with net and sieve. Either the spcci-
| men desired Is seen and a canvass net thrown
over him or the leaf mould is taken up and
! slfted. sieve full of leaf mould will Weld
! dozens OF spiders every time. Another way is
| to knock the bushes SO as to shake the spiders
| all into the net"
| HOW SPIDERS ARE KEPT.
| "Why do you keep all your 900 specimens
| in little bottles of alcohol? Would il not be
more interesting to have them pinned dry, and
spread out on frames?''
| 1T could not be done. Most spiders are soft,
and when dry they have shrunk so as to be un-
| recognizable. Their legs get SO brittle as to
break oil by their own weight. So the only
| way to do Is to keep them i'll spirits, which Is
just as satisfactory plan from the scientific
point OF view. In that manner a great number
can be kept in very small compass. You see
| my ,OOO specimens take up more room than
q little book case would. And, at a moments
notice, can find by the label any variety | am
looking for, pull out the little frame that holds
the row or bottles containing the representa-
tlves OF that variety and exhibit them in or
| derry arrangement. If it is desired to examine
any particular specimen closely she is spilled
out upon little saucer and subjected to scru-
tiny under the magniiying glass"
lrland it MikIa! or Great Ireland!
| To the Editor of THE EVENING STAR:
As an Irishman protest. 1t is wrongl It ia
unjust if not ungrateful! mean the almost
universal acquiescence in the gratuitous as
sumption just now by our ''learned pundits,'