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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



by subjects, so tbat tbe resources of the 

 library in any field of knowledge can be 

 seen at a glance ; tbe books are arranged 

 in tbe same way, so tbat tbe readers, 

 who have free access to the shelves, can 

 find tbe material relating to each topic 

 of study all in one place ; there is a 

 large, light, and airy reading-room with 

 an electric lamp on every table; tbe 

 method of calling for books gives the 

 least possible trouble to tbe reader; 

 those lent out are charged under a sys- 

 tem which enables the charging clerk to 

 tell the whereabouts of every volume at 

 any time; trained librarians are always 

 at band to give any assistance needed, 

 and users of books are afforded other 

 facilities too numerous to mention. The 

 improvements in this library made by 

 Mr. Dewey induced several societies to 

 deposit their special libraries here per- 

 manently, and drew in so many gifts 

 that the collection grew as much in five 

 years as it had during the preceding 

 century. In such a library we have the 

 same thorough adaptation of resources 

 to the work to be done that character- 

 izes the laboratory. Similar methods 

 are spreading widely among libraries 

 designed for study, and promise to give 

 books a higher value and a truer useful- 

 ness than they ever had when they were 

 the objects of a sort of fetich-worship. 



LITERARY NOTICES. 



American Spiders and their Spinning- 

 work. By Henry C. McCook, D. D. 

 Vol. II. Published by the author : 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- 

 delphia. Pp. 480, quarto. Price, $30 

 for set of three volumes. 



The high character of the first volume 

 of this work is fully kept up, if not excelled, 

 in the second. We have here the same care- 

 ful observation that marked the first volume, 

 the same painstaking description, the same 

 clear and picturesque language, and more 

 than an equal wealth of illustrations, for, in 

 addition to the four hundred cuts, Volume 

 II contains five colored plates. These last 

 may be taken as samples of those that are 

 to form so large a feature of the concluding 



volume. Upon the completion of Volume 

 III, which is now well under way, the price 

 of the set will be raised to $50. This has 

 been found necessary, in order to reimburse 

 the author for the cost of publication. The 

 early portion of the present volume is de- 

 voted to the courtship and mating of spiders. 

 Here are described the search of the male for 

 a mate, his approaches, made cautious by the 

 knowledge that his prospective bride may eat 

 him if she does not feel amiable, his actions 

 in the union, and his flight for life afterward. 

 The males of some species execute curious 

 dances to win the favor of the females ; the 

 water-spiders have special habits of mating 

 due to their mode of life ; and various other 

 peculiarities are observed in other species. 

 Maternal industry and instincts are next 

 taken up, this subject comprising the making 

 of cocoons, and the means employed to pro- 

 tect their contents from exigencies of climate 

 and weather, and assaults of enemies. The 

 habits of orb-weavers are taken as the basis 

 of the account, but the cocoonery of many 

 other species is fully described for the pur- 

 pose of comparison. The early adventures 

 of the young form another phase of spider- 

 life that receives similar detailed attention. 

 One of the most interesting chapters is that 

 dealing with the ballooning habit of spiders, 

 or their practice of sailing through the air 

 borne up by several streaming threads. The 

 habit is by no means confined to one species, 

 Dr. McCook deeming it probable that the 

 young of most spiders are more or less ad- 

 dicted to this mode of motion. There is a 

 chapter on the senses of spiders, in which 

 the anatomy of the sense-organs is described. 

 In speaking of color and the color-sense, Dr. 

 McCook contradicts the popular idea that 

 spiders as a class are ugly, and says that as 

 fair and brilliant colors may be found among 

 the spiders as among the butterflies. Other 

 topics treated are the influence of hostile 

 agents in causing mimicry on the part of 

 spiders, in modifying their habits, and in 

 causing the feigning of death. Dr. McCook 

 does not accept the theory of fear-paralysis 

 as regards spiders, but believes that their 

 assuming of death-like stillness in the pres- 

 ence of stronger enemies is entirely volun- 

 tary. The bodies of spiders are so easily 

 destroyed that many readers will be sur- 

 prised to find a chapter on fossil spiders 



