The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-08

panther or cat can vie with this little
fellow in the skill and adroitness with
which it stealthily approaches and cap
lures its game. He is perfectly HARM
less, but not one housewife in a hum
bred appears to know it, for she will
have a 'conniption' fit every time she
sees one.
Another common house spider is
known as the Theridion yuIgare, varia-
BILE in color. being sometimes cream
white and sometimes darker of a lead
en- gray on livid brown, and tinged at
times with red This spider is of a
more retiring nature than the one I
have just spoken of, and contents him
self with building a home in some dark
corner of a room. After the web is
made ready he retires 10 his den and
waits for his victim, and the moment a
fly or other insect is entangled in the
meshes of the web the spider darts out.
and if he fears that the captive is suffi-
GENTLY large and strong enough even
tually to break the web and get away
he will advance cautiously and begin
the work of spinning thread after
thread around him so as to bind the
victim fast. When this is done the
little spider will then set to work to
hasten its death by singing him.
These spiders never permit the dead
victim to remain in the web, but will
weave a system of pulleys and tackle,
and by degrees work the dead body int
his home, when he goes to work and
repairs and rearranges the web for the
next unfortunate.
"A half century ago a merchant in
Chemung county, N. Y, had a pet spi-
der in his store. 1t was little brown
colored fellow, and made its home I'M
der one of the counters. One day the
spider discovered a small snake near
i the nest, and at once determined to
capture the reptile before it had a
chance to get him. The snake was
what is known as a milk snake, and
didn't seem disposed to be in any hur-
ry about getting away The spider was
already at work when the storekeeper
discovered what he was doing. With
all the care possible the spider placed
! loop around the neck of the snake,
spinning the little silken threads with
wonderful rapidity. When the spider
was satisfied that the cable was suffi-
GENTLY strong to support the weight of
, the snake he began to arrange for pull
! leylike tackle and in little while the
snakes head was lifted and gradually
its whole body was drawn off the cor,
and swung around by the top of the
! counter, where the spider had his
I home.
| ITO make doubly sure of his work,
| the title spider passed rapidly up and
down the cable, adding strand after
/ strand of web. When this was accom-
plished to the entire satisfaction of the
t spider he then began the most wonder
! full part of his whole work. He
! watched every chance, and whenever
the snakes head was turned to one
! side he would throw a strand of web
over his head, and in less than half an
! hour the snakes mouth was bound
/ firmly, muzzled so that it was impOs-
sible for it to bite the spider. Before
the work was finished the little spider
! showed signs Of breaking down, NOV
| ing about with unsteady gait, but he
did not retire to his den until the
snake was bound so that it was impos-
sible for it to get free, Those who wit
messed this truly wonderful feat say
that it was five days before the snake
died. OF course. If the spider had been
poisonous he could have FASTENED its
death, but at no time did he sting the
snake. This is the most wonderful and
| remarkable spider story which has ever
reached us, but it is vouched for by
some of the best people now living in
| Chemung county.
Give the house spiders a chance;
don't kill them: they will do lots of ser
i vice in destroying flies as we'll as poi
| sOnous insects