The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-06-09
Spiders and Crabs In Florida.

spiders ana Crabs In Florida,
On the borders of the Everglades YOU
often see IL large yellow spider. He
swings Il strong web from two plant
space of ground and waits for his prey.
The web is in the shape of IL hammock
ana tapers ut each end to Il fine point,
though quite broad in the middle. The
bright color of the owner seems to mark
him out for destruction-he is clearly
defined against the white sand or dead
leaves, and you wonder what he would
do for defense in case of attack APP
proacll quietly and he watches YOU in
tently. Now raise your hand suddenly
and he will disappear. While you are
wondering what became Of him you see
first blur where he had been, then sew
cral spiders, then you catch sight again
OF the yellow ball you noticed ut first.
Repeat the performance, and the stage
effect is renewed. The disappearance is
absolute--there can be no doubt about it,
ana a; the little magician trusts to it entire
~ for his protection. How is it done
AS soon as he is threatened he starts the
vibrations Of his airy hammock. These
become too rapid for the eye to follow,
and he vanishes. AS these become slow
er you sec Il blur, and then several spi-
ders as the eye catches him at different
points of his swing, until finally he rests
before you.
Haunting the rookeries of the birds in
the southern part Of the peninsula is Il
large blue crab. He makes hole in
the ground, usually under Il log, and
when he hears a noise clcvatcs his head
and protrudes his eyes with startling
effect. He is able to take care of him
sell tor his pincerS are powerful. and
his shell is hard-hc is often as large as
saucer. There is perpetual war be.
tween him and the birds. He wandcr>
among the nests ut night and appropri.
ates the bits of fish left by the neStlings
and the young themselves if he can find
a mother off her guard. But he has to
be- sly or he is killed by the stroke of Il
bayonet bill. and eaten in his turn. When
the plume hunters have driven off or de-
stroycd the parents of Il rOOkcry, thc>,
crabs swarm out and dcvo,r the orphan
young in short order. But while the
mothers are allowed to do their duty,
the crabs arc ideal SravrngrrS. and de-
YOUR the refuse as we'll as the insects
that infrst the bird cities Their bright
colors, like those of the tiger make them
less dangerous than their apDetites
would otherwise be-
There is little purple crab along the
coasts of Southern Florida which seems
to feed almost entirely upon the fruit of
the cactus. This it so much resembles
that YOU are suddenly surprised to see
one of the S,lccuient little balls move
away from your fingers before you arc
aware it is alive. Step back. and the
crab will resume its place. and seem to
be as curious about you as you arc about
him.
One Of the most beautiful shells found
along our coast is that of large snail
which climbs certain trees and grows
delicately fat on the young birds. The
shell is as thin as tissue paper. oddly
curved. and almost as transparent as the
finest glass. 1t belongs to the family of
edible snails so priced as Il dclicacy on
tn" coast OF France: and if properly pro-
pared makes a delicious dish. it is most
abundant about New River inlet. where
the slight shake of tree about sunset
will bring Il shower of them to the
ground. The breakagc of a shell seems
to be of little trouble to the snail-he re-
pairs the damage and moves on.-Jack-
SOnvillc (FlaD Citizen.