Telegram-herald., 1891-11-18
TINY SKILLED WORKERS.
Marvellous Accomplishments OF
Some SpiderA
EhougA Kst Attrsesivs b Appsersnse
They CommAad Aamtratknn fer Their
Almost lasssAikzae ArAisvannso1s-
FAi<y-Lhs Facts


Almost lasssAiksas ArAisvsnnsoas-
Ehlsy-LAhs FAoss-
Tie best known mech auics OF the In
soct world ere the bses and ants,
wasps and hornets, all OF which are
very skillfl in cooperative house build
Ing; but IL IL oaly Of late that people
have begun - look 1t the spiders and
20 End ont that ugly n they arc, and
nnloxahlc and selfsheven among them
selves, they are wonderfully skill
full little woxkmen in several tzades
How many Inerc trades . longer OBJ
seryntion viii discover we cannot
Ruess, bn4 already Il 10 known that
thsre ara nAsons. t6nt builderA bal
loon ana divine-beil maa<erA and
Wxterproof-silk manufacturer be-
siaes the conncn web-Wesvsrs winch
we al know.
THE mason spider, unfortunately for
aome other Insects, does not earn his
living By his trade, although no ono
0n deny that he 10 = skilled lsborer. !"
bat he does net devote himself entire
y 70 his useful calling; in fact. he
makes it subservient TO his better liked,
II less innocent occupation, that at
highway robber.
Like any other bandit the mason
spider Ands II necessary for his safety
20 spend much of his time in hiding; SO
he excavates for himself . cave. not
very wide but from ono to two feet in
length, sometimes running downward
IN . more or less slantirg direction,
aud sometimos on , level A hs Is
iuxurious IN his tastes like many
another Misunderstanding less
will. please ham than ail,scn-hangings
for his retreat Like nearly all others
of his family, he is By naturc . silk.
spinner. and il - with silk Of his own
spinning and weaving that he 90 beau
tifully ines the entire length Of his
csre.
After the sillsen haayings arc flushed
60 his satisfaction. he proceeds TO . ln-
Dor which requires al his skill. both -
. mason and silk weaver. and that il
the trap door which il to close and hide
his retreat
For this purpose no hrst spins . web
exactly covering the mouth Of the cave.
but sttached to It only ON one side.
Over this web. which though SO very
Ane IL also very strong. he places IN
extremely thin layer of earth; then
over this he weaves smother web. and
again puts on layer OF earth. and %
on. layer after layer Of alternate silken
web and earth. eenenting all together
with . strong cement Of his own pre-
pairing. until the door il thick and arm
enough 10 answer his purpose OF
eourss the part OF the web ukiSA Is ct
tached to The side OF the cove YARNS the
hinge to the door. In most cases the
spider leaves open the door 70 his re-
treat when he u out Of - 6nlt shut,
ting Il when be seslss safety within.
end opsning Il eaaily by pushing IL mp
from the inside whsa he wishes 70 get
cut
But Shere are some sf thess cunning
workmen who wish TO secure their
csves from possibls capture while they
ere sbsent; 20 these extend the silken
layers Of the lid on the hinge side In
such way - to form sort Of handle
or lever. Just above the hinge Having
done this thsy caa Let tAs door or lid
fall shut aftss they Asvs passed
thrvugh. sed when they wish 70 re-
enter they have only to press hack upon
the lever. thas cpeuiug the door. Al
che outside layer Of this door II Of
earth, the rsbber- r-masou-spider's con-
cealmeut u complete, fos the most pr,c-
ticed eye cen hardly, By the most dill
eent searsA. discover the door 90 I'M
reniously nada Thh sarievs SPIDER n
found In several plseea buA his habits
have been observed chiedy ~ The Is
lad Of zanse. h The Neaiserranaon 80.
The ssas- buildine SPIDER n ealled By
nstur,lis<s CzseAs Dsrss6x To term
The fsiry-lise tsst h which n iivss snd
raises iss yeus2. u Asss weaves . ting.
sifheu sheet With seven o. eight sidsa,
whieh furn - maay sagieA 20 which
sr~ s<enched - slender silkea ropes
vhSeA hoad shs tens - the sSrfaes sf
SAe srounA % - - sAs allna
sAssts Shsa sssersa - shsA sss1 ssossay
go, eseA otAeR. - reqstsd 10 mako
GSa ssus sarcne ssougA - resist The
RI. a. vrsssse sssss usew - shesssr
q sAe S~aA A. ~ spt1eF Uuss prvsese
- yvuug frp1 stb9 sss1sss - see
Wssxhss q - suuntno1v esse4sua
60 Che 6ilRer1a laysps 81 - 49,
sAali form . lssyv1atA 0seSgn wnsen
d sls.s e. eai - vs1- 1s - thas
= fssssus ssgvGAs sUuse - - oesso
a - - sn1 soDs - senesA - -
AnvR Uu1A - - ououuDe -