Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-26

made of alternate layers of earth and web.
This lid or trap-door is secured to one spot oy
beautiful and strong silken hinge, secured
still further by doubling of The web OF lining lining
on each side OF it, which prevents its peMs
opened too widely.
Should an enemy of the spider attempt to
force an entrance, she holds it fast on the m
SIDE, as persons who have dug up the nests
and looked in from the under part have seen
her do.
The lid is made to fit most perfectly into
the opening, and overlaps it at the top; ana
the lining is made of many successive layers
of silken webbing, till of the thickness OF
stout cartridge paper, and then most beautilui-
ly and smoothly finished.
Whether all spiders have taste for music,
or only certain species, am unable to tel
you; but an instance is related by DisJouvai
I of one who used to take up her position on
the ceiling of room, and over the spot where
a lady used to play the harp. If the performer
changed her place, the spider removed TO
that part of the room with her.
The same love of or fascination produced
by music was observed by Berthoeme, the cele
brated violinist, who, when boy, was fol-
lowed by spider whenever he began to pay
1t at last became so familiar that it would
climb upon his arm or sit on his musc-desK
before him.
This discovery has been verified by Others
in reference to this insect; well known
fact as regards both the snake and the lizard
tribes
Possibly you may not be aware that the
threads of spiders web are drawn out from
no less than one thousand little holes in us
body, and that each thread is composed OF a
union or twist of four thousand. EXperl-
ments have been made with view to obtain
ing a silk tissue from the manufacture OF the
spider as we'll as from that OF the sllkworm.
Whether, from their glutinous character, they
stuck together, or from any other CAUSE aS u1
other, and the attempt proved failure Be
sides, it would require dozen large spiders
to produce as great a. weight OF weD as
single silkworm, and the pound OF SILK spun
by some twenty-three hundred OF the latter
would not be procured from less number
than about twenty thousand six hundred
spiders.
There are no less than sixty-seven genera
of this little creature, which is termed among
entomologists Arachnides and which, although
1 have called them insects, are, believe, now
classified by them as distinct species, neither
insects nor crabs, and varying considerably,
in their several species, in size, conformation
and habits. ,,
And now my few remarks on this little in
dustrious spinster must be concluded. She
does not supply you with honey, like the more
popular "busy bee," of whom Doctor Watts
sang a simple but immortal song; but she she
has some claims ON your consideration which
certainly should not be forgotten. In the
tidy housewife she must ever meet with
very unsparing foe; but even the former ought
to grant her some quarter in certain parts OF
the house.
In the ceiling corners of the larder she
should be regarded as friend, and the nets
which she spreads for our enemies, the large
bluebottle flies, strictly respected In the eel
lars, tool houses and stables allow her to
weave and snare her prey in peace. for the
horses will accord you vote of thanks If
you do.
But even to you, as to herself and them,
her wonderful work may some day prove of
USE No better plaster could my youthful
readers find, were they to cut their too fire.
quently mischievous little hands, than good
ed finger two or three times, and prove by
satisfactory experience that it viii stop the
bleeding most instantly, and will also act as
a curative remedy equal to any that your fam
ilY doctor can supply.