New-York tribune., 1901-07-28
f ~ Q1lILDPr1S
- ~ (DRNEP.
TIE SPIDER AT HOME

Sn, an ugly Splder! some little girl cries IN
disgust when she suddenly meets of these
tiny creatures happens against a web I'm
some out of the way corner. But though the house
spiders may be plain enough in appearance. their
outdoor cousins are many of them worthy of being
called pretty and all spiders found here in this
country harmless things. not inclined to bite.
and doing good service in devouring insects that
might become pest. Probably few boys or girls
have thought OF spiders bridge builders
balloonists. Yet many of them really first
class engineers.
One OF the interesting of these is called the
saltgrade or "hying' spider, probably because she
travels in such curious fashion, her COM
ing from two Latin words meaning step by
leaps Look carefully along the posts tall stalks
on some breezy autumn morning if you are in the
country and you may spy a slender thread two
waving in the air. which proves to be attached at
one end to the little spinner who has chosen care
fully her elevated position. There she SITS per-
haps tall cattail at the brook side.
a wooden post close by country road, her head
pointed toward the wind. her abdomen raised in
order to give free play TO the sken threads which
she is weaving with the tiny spinnerets the
end OF her body. The wind draws out the threads
till they have grown long that they are buoy
ant. and the spider. making spring into the air
at just the right moment. Is carried away her
queer balloon of threads TIL she lands last
n bush where she can make her home. Often she
Is Obliged to up housekeeping wherever the
wind leaves her. and sometimes n sad thing hap
pens and she IS carried out to When her bal
loon lifted her off feet Mistress Spider
clngs tightly to the drifting threads and quickly
spins mesh of web like tiny basket. which
she may ride comfortably. Some spiders have been
seen to make their balloons alght by slowly draw
ing in the long threads till they form ball, when
the small balloonlst drops by her own weight.
Saltigrades have been known TO travel hundreds of
miles In this way
The bridge builders belong to a class called orb
weavers. because of the wheel shaped web which
they spin. These clever creatures built suspension
bridges Ions before any one dreamed of the Brook
lyn Bridge Strangely enough too they work in q
way much like that of human engineers. Settling
on some high point like her ''baloonng'' relative.
Nine. Orb Weaver throws out her siIken thread
and waits for II catch bush tree some
feet away. When this happens she draws it tight
and begins to cross upon it, spinning another line
she goes. and crossing and recrossing again and
again till she considers her small foundation cable
quite strong enough for her purpose. She now
repeats the whole process with a second thread
lower down. then with her two sustaining lines in
place she proceeds to spin her web between them.
hoping to catch unwary insects in her aerial snare
These webs are found stretching between bushes
across small brooks or over less frequented coun-
try roads the lines reaching even twenty-five or
One Of the largest and most common of the orb
is found in the country Ta or a os
body is a pretty silver gray and the abdomen OF
is are Hinged with black This little spinner
makes pretty web. with heavy zigzag line run
ming nm and down the centre. which makes
think that she must have been the spider who said
the fly in the nursery rhyme The II & way yin into my
webs in the grass some day just touch one of them
gently and see how the owner of this little parlor
Shows her Indignation Or fright by setting the
whole web to shaking
one set of orb weayers. likes the Indian braves of
old, ornament their homes with the skulls of their
Victims. and show a funny & array Of heads and
When the time comes to lay her eggs the spider
mas are Pcaref2liy packed ike hundreds of little
yellow globules to wait TIL the spring ma hatShins
ing in the tan grass tightly fastened by sikeg
storm The outer covering is tough and glazed
well waterproof, and no drop OF rain can SOAK
out ike birds instead Of passing through long
ransqry state II ks mSs TS the In GTnsrS e
Insects usually have have six Ies SPIDERS so aFe
sroWn together. so that the body has only two
parts instead Of the three seen in the ant ant or eee
tbrelds @ all fused together into they emerge
from the infinitely small spinning tubes
The webs of orb weavers are not easily spied |
GnIssS yers gST Who Spread heir thick
webs on top of the grnfiS stare IN ugg and the
farmer as he sees them says 1T will be , hot to- to-
the shining drops make them gste9 e tSIS Si bom Ine
nos Gn ih how to hide in her funnel when boy comes
dangerously near and sometimes she ulsappears
mysferiousiy through some private passage known
Spiders solitary H little ,S yo sdo@ 9TnS nG them fhe
relaxing their unsocal habits after and 5hey sye aSe
passed their first gay oi oAcy nOuu o'i" 49, N~-N
10 shift for themselves.
The little princess, Victoria Louise VINO Is eight
aars old is the only girl in the imperial family OF
Germany Her father, the Emperor. has bought
a beautiful villa for her older brothers to ve IN
while they are studying at the university IN the
quaint old city of Bonn on the Rhine The mouse
stands on the bank of the river. and has large
rrounds around H. There are Conservatives in the
pardens and a fine tennis court. whicn can De
hooded in winter and turned into skathg pond;
Tbe crown nrince is riding and driving. ana
the stables are we'll filed with horses Inc Prines
slIite of rooms are the ground noor. Wniie MS
Younger brother. Prince Eitel Frederick, when ne
goes 10 Rom in the autumn will have MS apart
msp4s upstairs. Everything has been done 10