American Spiders And Their Spinning Work A Natural History Of The Orbweaving Spiders Of The United States With Special Regard To Their Industry And

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1890 edition. Excerpt: ... another cause. The spiders, previous to flight or vaulting, attached themselves to the post in the manner common to most of their order. The apex of the abdomen was thrust down upon the surface, and the liquid silk at the same time exuded from the spinnerets was thus caused to adhere thereto. As the creature moved away the thread was run out into line, and gave the spider a firm attachment. It is a question whether this anchorage is always made previous to flight, and whether the thread is cut immediately before the ascent. The observations made all pointed to an affirmative answer, but the matter was not positively settled. The attempt was made to follow some of the aeronauts beyond the point of ascent. The difficulty in getting the minute objects in position relative to the sun favorable for such observation, the motion of the air which carried them upward, as well as the rapidity of flight, frustrated many attempts. A position was finally token beside one of the side posts of the sliding "bars," which being opened gave a point of observation with the back to the sun, the eye upon the object, and a fair opportunity to follow it without the delay of leaping over a high fence, which before had been between the observer and the course of the aeronaut sailing before the wind. Fortune favored patience, and at last a spider took flight in a line which was a little higher than the face. Following the aranead at a moderate run, with the eye held closely upon it, I observed that the position of the body was soon reversed; that is, the head was turned in the direction toward which the wind was blowing, instead of the point from which it blew, as before the ascent. Thus the long thread which streamed out above the aeronaut inclined...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.