Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-08
4eaoNAuTc SPIDERS.
Insects That Can Build Balloons ana
Travel Through the Air.

lnneHe1 Th8& Ian O0ht0 A9oAboOAA 49,
Travel Through the Air.
There is a certain species Of spider which
Is moved By instinct ut certain seasons OF
the year to travel. and to travel distances
that no one would suspect him DESTROYS OF
covering. What, then, Is his method! The
spider selects the right kind OF day, one
on which there is almost calm in the
air, rather one where there Is just the
slightest breeze.
He crawls up a tree, or flagstaff, or
bullrush, or anything that will give him
free position. He then begins 70 emit
the free end of . web from his fiiament
bag, and this is SO light and fresh that 1t
floats away in the air and Is carried along
by the light breeze
He NAV emit 100 or 600 yards, and ev-
ery now and then he tries whether there is
enough out and floating to buoy him II he
lets go his grip on the tree or other eleva-
tion. BY nice system OF calculation he
ascertains Just what will buoy him, and
then, letting go his hold. the niament Is
| borne of BY the wind, and he himself mt
the end of it, and in this way he can trav-
eli miles and miles.
Ifhe finds himself coning near the wa
ter. he pays out more of his cable, and in
that way he obtains more floating filament
to bear him up. If, on the contrary, he
finds himself going too high, he draws in
his cable and descends by lessening the
amount of floating filament.
II YOU anchor pole in body of water,
leaving the pole above the surface, and
put a spider upon it. he will exhibit mar
velous intelligence by his plans to escape.
At first he will spin web and hang to
| one end while he SLOWS the other to float
off in the wind, in the hope that it will
strike some object.
OF course this plan proves failure, but
the spider is not discouraged. He waits
until the wind changes and then sends an
other silken strand floating off in another
direction. Another failure is followed by
| several similar attempts, until all the
points of the compass have been tried.
But neither the resources nor reasoning
power of the spider have been tried. He
climbs to the top of the pole and energetic
| ally goes to work to construct silken
| balloon. He has not hot air with which
| to initiate it, but ho has the power of IL ak
| ing it buoyant.
When he gets his balloon finished, lie
| does not go off on the mere supposition
| that it will carry him, as men often do,
| but he fastens it 20 n guy rope, tho other
| end of which he attaches to the island pole
upon which he is a prisoner. He then gets
| into his aerial vehicle while it is made
! fast and tests it to see whether it Is capa-
| BILE of bearing him away.
He often finds that he has made it too
| small, in which case he hauls it down,
| takes it all apart and constructs it on a
| larger and better plan. A spider has been
| seen to make three different balloons be-
| fore he became satisefid with his expert
ment.
Then he will snap the guy rope, and sus-
| pended from filament will sail away to
| land as gracefully and as supremely in
| dependent of his surroundings as could be
| imagined. Toronto World.