River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-10-22
TINY SKILLED WORKERS.
Marvellous Accomplishments of
Some Spiders

Enough Not Attractive In Appearance
They Command Admiration for Their
Almost Incredible achievements
Fairy-Like Facts
The best known mechanics Of the in
sect world are the bees and ants.
wasps and hornets, all OF which are
very slxillful IN cooperative house build
ing; but il is only of late that people
have begun to look at the spiders and
10 find out that, ugly a. they are. and
ENJOYABLE and selfish even among them
selves. they are wonderfully skill
full little wOrkmen in several trades
How many more trades longer oh
servatiOn viii discover we cannot
guess. but already It Is known that
there are masOns, tent builders, bal
loon and diving bell makers. and
waterproOf-silk manufacturers, be-
sides the common web-weavers which
we all know.
The mason sp der, unfortunately for
some other insects, does not earn his
living by his trade. although no one
can deny that he is skilled labOrer-"
But he does not devote himself entire
" to his useful calling; in fact. he
makes il subservient 10 mis- better liked.
if less innocent occupation, that of a
highway rObber.
Like any other bandit the mason
spider finds it necessary for his safety
20 spend much of his time in hiding; so
he exeavates for himself cave, not
very wide. but from one 10 two feet in
IL.
in a more or less slanting direction,
and sometimes on a level As he is
luxurious in his tastes like many
another highwayman-nothing less
will please him than sillSen-hangings
for his retreat. Like nearly all others
of his family, he is by nature silk
spinner, and it is with silk of his own
spinning and weaving that he SO beau
tifulIy lines the entire length of his
cave.
After the sillxen hangings are flushed
TO his satisfaction, he proceeds to a la
Dor which requires all his skill. both as
a mason and u silk weaver, and that Is
the trap door which is 10 close and hide
his retreat
For this purpose he first spins a web
exactly covering the mouth of the cave,
but attached To il only on one side
Over this web. which though 50 very
fine is also very strong, he places an
extremely thin layer of earth; then
over this he veaves another web. aud
again puts on a layer 81 earth. and 50
on. layer after layer of alternate silken
web and earth, cementing all together
with strong cement of his own pre-
pairing, until the door is thick and firm
enough to answer his purpose of
course the part Of the web which Is at
tached To the side Of the cave forms the
hinge to the door In most cases the
spider leaves open the door u his re-
treat when he Is out OF it, only shut
ting Il when he seeks safety within.
and opening it easily by pushing it up
from the inside when he wishes 70 get
out
But there are some of these cunning
worlzmen who wish To secure their
caves from possible capture while they
are absent: 50 these extend the SilSen
layers of the lid on the hinge side in
such way a. % form sort Of handle
or lever, Just above the hinge Having
done this they can let the door OF lid
fall shut after they have passed
through, and when they wish - re-
enter they have only To press back upon
the lever. thus opening the door. As
the outside layer Of this door is of
earth. the r0bber-masOn-s spiders con
ceaLment is complete, for the most prac-
ticed eve can hardly. by the most dill
gent search. discover the door So in
geniously made This curious spider j.
found ~ several places. but his ha bits
have been observed chiefly On the Is
land of Zantc, IN the Mediterranean sea
The tent-bu.ldiug spider i, called by
naturalists Ciefk0 Dgrsadii. To form
the fairy-lilSc tent In which Il lives and
raises its young. II first weave> tiny.
silkeu sheet with seven or eight sides
which form 80 many angles. To- which
are attached the slender silken ropes
which hold the tent 10 the surface Of
the ground 20 fine are the SilkeH
sheets that several Of theus. laid closely
upon each other. are required tn make
the tent strong enough t. resist the
rain and protect those under the shelter
of the tent As the spider must protect
its young from other enemies than the
weather II has cunningly contrived
that the different LAYERS of the tent
shall form a labyrinth through which
il alone can find its way. To do this
il faste1s together some of the sheets
on one side and some ON Others, 80 that
having entered by the OuterEOst open
ing il has to travel rs many times from
side 10 side as there are layers u the
tent before il can reach the tidy little
apartment where its young ere kept
safely dry and warm The more effec-
tually TO conceal the tent from possible
enemies. the outside layer i carefully
GiscoIoreI with mud. so that Il may re-
semble the color of the surrounding
soil, but the interior is beautifully
Clean. soft and white
Another spider. the maker Of water
proof goods. i corsair, and of
course needs ship to sail about in;
and. equally Of course. considering its
nature, II prefers To get is ship hy
stealing 30. having determined to en-
ter upon its piratical career. it looks
shout TO find the caSt-off shell of a
water snail Having found one of suit
able size il enters and Immediately be-
gins 10 prepare a door Of vanished
silk. which i perfectly waterproof.
Behind this door. effectually protected
from the water. our cunning eOrsair
lives aud floats about, waiting for his
prey. Like al other cOrsairs. he sails
under false colorS. IL is To deceive his
victims until they have no time TO make
their escape that he passes himself off
As an innocent water snail AL spiders
are said 70 dislike a wetting nearly OF
quite as much a eats are known to do,
yet there arc other spiders. besides the
corsalr waterproof silk maker. which
a----UailY live IN or under the wafer