The history of silk, cotton, linen, wool, and other fibrous ... - Cd3wd.com

154 CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SILK.
line by raising up its l)ody, wc l:)ronght within three inches of
its spinnerets an excited stick of sealing-wax, of which it took
no notice, nor did any thread extend to it, not even when
brought ahnost to touch the spinnerets. We experienced the
same want of success with an excited glass rod ; and indeed
had not anticipated any other result, as we have never observed
that either these attract or repel the floating threads^ as Mr.
Murray has seen them do ; nor have we ever noticed iBe end
of a floating thread separated into its component threadlets and
diverging hke a brush, as he and Mr. Bowman describe (See
Fig. 11.). It may be proper to mention that Mr. Murray, in
conformity with his theory, explains the shooting of lines in a
current of air by the electric state produced by motion in con-
sequence of the mutual friction of the gaseous particles. But
this view of the matter does not seem to afl'ect our state-
ments."
Nests, Webs, and Nets of Spiders.— " The neatest,"
says Mr. Rennie, " though the smallest spider's nest which
we have seen, was constructed in the chink of a garden-
post, which we had cut out the previous summer in getting
at the cells of a carpenter-bee. The architect was one of the
larger hunting-spiders, erroneously said by some naturalists to
be incapable of spinning. The nest in question was about
two inches high, composed of a very close satin-like texture.
There were two parallel chambers placed perpendicularly, in
which position also the inhabitant reposed there during the day.
going, as we presume, only abroad to prey during the night.
But the most remarkable circumstance was, that the openings
(two above and two below) were so elastic, that they shut close-
ly together. We observed this spider for several months, but
at last it disappeared, and we took the nest out under the no-
tion that it might contain eggs ; but found none, and therefore
concluded that it was only used as a day retreat." The ac-
count which Evelyn has given of these hunting spiders is so
interesting that we must transcribe it.
" Of all sorts of insects," says he, " none have afforded
me more divertisement than the venatores (hunters), which
are a sort of bipi (wolves) that have their dens in rugged