The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-06
THE MORNING NEWS: MONDAY. MAY 6. 1885,

Like any other bandit. the mason spider
fnds IL necessary for his safety 10 spend
much OF his time in hiding; so ne eN-
cavates for himself a cave, not very wide.
but from one TO two feet in length. some
times running downward in a more or
less slanting direction, and sometimes
on level As he Is 4uNurious IN MS
tastes, nothing less will please him than
silken hangings for his retreat Like
nearly all others Of his family, ne is by
nature a silk spinner, ana II is Win
silk Of his own spinning ana weaving
that he so beautifully lines the entire
length Of his cave.
After the silken hangings are finished
70 his satisfaction. he proceeds 10 la
Dor which requires all his skill, both as a
mason and a SIX weaver. and that Is the
trap door which IS TO close and hide MS
retreat.
For this purpose he first spins web
exactly covering the mouth Of the cave,
but attached to II only by one side over
this web, which, though very fine, Is also
very strong, re places an extremely thin
layer Of earth: then over this ne WeaFcs
another web, and then again puts on
another layer Of earth. and 50 on, layer
after layer Of alternate web and earth, &C.
menting all together with strong cement
Of his own preparing. until the door Is
thick and firm enough to answer his pur-
pose.
of course. the part OF the web which is
attached 10 the side OF the cave forms the
hinge TO the door.
In most cases the spider leaves open the
door to his retreat when he IS out OF H.
only shutting it when he seeks safety
within, and opening IL easily by pushing
II VI from the inside when ne wishes 10
get out.
But there are some Of these cunning
workmen who wish TO secure their caves
from possible capture while they are alb
sent; so these extend the silken layers OF
the lid on the hinge side in such way as
to form a sort of handle or lever, just
above the hinge. Having done this they
can let the door or lid fall after they have
passed through, and when they wish to 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 robbermasOn spiders con-
cealment is complete, for the most prac-
ticed eye can hardly. by the most dill
gent search, discover the door so ingen-
iously made. This curious spider is found
in several places, but his habits have
been observed chiefly on the Island OF
Zante, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The BODYBUILDING spider. TO form the
fairy-like tent in which IL lives and raises
its young, first leaves a tiny silken sheet
with seven or eight sides, which form so
many angles, 10 which are attached the
slender silken ropes which hold the tent
firmly 70 the surface Of the ground.
So fine are the silken sheets that sew
eral of them, laid closely upon each other,
are required to make the tent strong
enough to 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, it has cunning
~ contrived that the different layers OF
the tent shall form a labyrinth through
which 1t alone can find its way.
Another spider, the maker of water
proof goods, is a corsair, and, of course,
needs a ship to sail about in; and, equally
of course, considering its nature, it pre-
fers to get it's ship by stealing. So, hav-
ing determined to enter upon its piratical
career, he looks about to find the cast-off
shell of a water snail.
Having found one of the suitable size,
il enters, and Immediately begins to pre-
pare a door of vanished silk, which is
perfectly wat erproot.
Behind this door, effectually protected
from the water. our cunning corsar lives
and floats about, waiting for his prey.
Like all other cOrsairs, he sails under
false co1ors 1t is to deceive his victims
until they have no time 10 make their
escape that he passes himself off as an in
nocent waterSEail.
Still another spider is a paper maker.
and DIR. Livingstone found many speci-
ments of ii living in Central Africa. where
ii makes its nest of small sheets OF thin
gray paper, resembling that of which hor-
nets and wasps build their nests pasted
so close to the walls of the native huts
as to almost escape observation.
The balloon making spider has attract
ed great admiration from the skill with
which he spins, weaves and initiates
tiny balloon, underneath which Vt remains
in safety while the breezes watt il away