The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-03-19

desires to get thread across from thai
tWlg to the branch of another twie
Twelve feet away, how is she going to dc
lux III tell you. She knows how the
wind is blowing and takes notice of its
force. When the breeze just suits hel
purpose, as to direction and strength
she raises her abdomen as high as posi-
Die and emits single thread, which is
| taken by the current of air and floated
Off until it catches where it is desired
Then she pulls in the slack, so as tc
make the thread taut, and, spinning her
entire 300 or 400 threads together, she
| attaches their eXtremities to the twig
where she has been sitting, gives the m
all twist so as to make themuinto a
rope, and starts with the rope to walk
across the thread originally cast, spin
ming the rope as she goes, until she
fastens its other extremity upon the
branch twelve feet away. And thus she
has established her first rope that is the
beginning of her web"
but suppose there is no wind?"
Then the problem is more complicat-
ed; but she knows how to solve it. She
drops herself by thread from the first
twig to the ground, and then runs across
to the distant tree on seven legs, hold
ing up one leg to carry the thread; she
climbs up the other tree, and when she
has reached the spot contemplated she
fastens the thread, and. pulling in the
slack claw over claw, fetches it taut.
She then eats the slack before going on
with her labors, for the spider is thor
ough economist. Having drawn her first
line between two points, she casts an
other one parallel with it two feet, say,
below. Then. running around to the
middle point of the upper bridge, she
drops thread to the lower horizontal,
connecting the two by perpendicular.
Nextshe drops two other perpendiculars,
one on either side of the original one,
and from the middle point of the first
perpendicular she draws radii in every
direction until there are enough of them
to run all around upon. Now, begin
ming at a point on the outside of this
framework, she spins a spiral toward
the center, and having reached the
center, she runs another spiral outward
to the edge of the frame, destroying the
former spiral, which is not made of
sticky web, not being designed to
be permanent for fly catching.
sometimes Mistress Spider does not ap-
prove of her work and tears it all apart,
to begin anew. One way in which the
weaver manifests her intelligence is by
the Idicious choice she makes of places
for her web.
A spot she is apt to select is 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 flow
ers, which insects are apt to seek for
their sweets, or she will place it in an
opening like broken window or among
densely foliated bushes, where there is
a draft to carry the victims into the
trap. Sometimes spider will spin
four hundred threads of some length
in bunch, break them all off together
and let them fly with the wind in all
directions. One or two of the lot will
catch across between available points
md give the desired start for the bridge.
Then she fastens the extremities of the
bridge with new sticky
;hreads-the other ones were dry-and
proceeds to business. With the sixteen
combs that she has to hold the threads
separate, and finger claw on each foot
,ocidoS III orou,;tb RI foctop tho +bro,d,
he can perform her weaving operation
With exceptional dexterity. The Sec
md horizontal bridge beneath is ordi-
larily made by going to point a short
distance below the upper bridge on one
ide, fastening the thread on a con-
'enient projecting twig, climbing from
here to the upper bridge, running
cross it, then down the opposite side to !
o the proper place, and finally hauling
n the slack"
'Do all spiders spin webs?"
mo, some spiders are called vaga-
,ond spiders for the reason that they !
% not spin webs. The most i'll ,eresting
ort of vagabond spider is the so-called
rap-door spider, which makes box,
ften as big as your two fists, of earth
emented into large mass by the
pider's own excretion. The box has
title trap-door at one end with a
trong elastic thread to serve as
pring. The nest looks like nothing
nut clod of dirt, and the door springs
o so perfectly-even in the case of
hose that have been kept for years as
urios-that you can not see any trace
f an opening. Another vagabond
pider lives in a hole in the ground
DOT deep with little nest on top of the
ole made of small sticks and grass.
here is a very curious weaving spider
allied the 'gossamer or flying spider.
IN warm fall day you will often find
he air afoat with spiders webbs, and
{ you examine othem you will find
ozens uof little spiders in the webs.
,hese gossamer spiders in pleasant
utumn weather attach thread to the
round and permit the breeze to blow
hem way off into the air, where they
emain suspended, at anchor, for days at
time. often miles and miles from spot
Q which they are anchored"
s'Haye spiders any eaaaiesp'