Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-08-01
INSECT ENGINEERING
TEATs or The CARPENTER BEE AND
THE TUM6LEBUG.

The sexton beetle Il an Expcrt
CrnvcdfEgcr - Wonderful SKIN OF
the spider and the Great strain
That HIS Elastic Web VIII Bear.
Long before man had thought OF the
saw the saw fly had used the same
TOOL, made after the same fashion and
used In the Same way, for the purpose
of making Sits in the branches OF trees
20 that she might have secure place
10 deposit her eggs. The carpenter bee.
with only the tools which nature has
given her, cuts a round hole. the full
diameter Of her body. through thick
boards and SO makes n tunnel by which
she can have safe retreat in which 10
rear her young. The tumblcbug. with
out derrick or machinery, rolls over
large masses OF dirt many times her
own weight. and the sexton beetle will
in few hours bury beneath the ground
the carcass Of n comparatively large
animal All these feats require n de
gree of instinct which In Il reasoning
creature would be called engineering
skill. but none of thcm is as wonder
ful as the feats performed by the sDi-
der. This extraordinary little animal
has the faculty OF propclllnC her
threads directly against the wind, and
by means of her slender cords she can
haul up and suspend bodies which are
many times her own weight.
Somo years ago n paragraph went the
rounds Of the papers In which il was
said that a spider had suspended an
unfortunate mouse. raising ii from the
ground and leaving IL 10 perish misera-
bly, between heaven and earth. Would
be philosophers made great fun OF the
statement and ridiculcd Il unmerciful-
ly. I know not how true il was. but
know that II might have been true.
Some years ago in the village OF Ia
vana In the state Of New York n spider
entangled milk snake In her threads
and actually raised IL some distance
from tho ground. and this, too. In spite
Of the struggles of the reptile, which
was alive.
BY what process OF engineering did
this comparatively small and feeble in
sect succeed In overcoming and lifting
up 10y mechanical means the mouse or
the snake? The solution Is easy
enough II we only give the question
! little thought.
The spider is furnished with one OF
the most efficient mechanical nipple
ments known TO engineers-viz,
strong elastic thread. That the thread
Is strong is well known. Indeed, there
are few substances that VIII support a
greater strain than the silk Of the silk
worm or the spider. careful expert
ment having shown that for equal sizes
the strength OF these tibers exceeds that
Of common iron. But Notwithstanding
Its strength the spiders thread would
be useless as a mechanical power II IL
We're not for It's elasticity. The spider
has no blocks or pulleys. and therefore
1t cannot cause the thread to divide up
and run In different directions, but the
elasticity OF the thread more than
makes up for this and renders possible
the lifting OF an animal much heavier
than mouse or snake. This may
require n little explanation.
Let us suppose that child can lift
a six pound weight one foot high and
do this twenty times a minute. Fur
nIsh him with $50 rubber bands, each
capable of pulling six pounds through
one foot when stretched. Let these
bands be attached To a wooden plat
form on which stands pair Of horses
weighing loo pounds. or rather more
than ton. II now the child Will GO to
work and stretch these rubber bands
singly. hooking each one up as It is
stretched. in less than twenty minutes
he Will have raised the pair OF horses
one foot
We thus see that the elasticity OF the
rubber bands enables the child to di-
vide the weight of horses into $50
pieces OF six pounds each. and. at the
rate OF little less than one every
three seconds. he lifts all these sepa-
rate pieces e2c foot, SO that the child