300 TENANTS OF AN OLD FAliM. 



building a snare proceeds, in the main, after the manner 

 of the ballooning saltigrade. She stations herself upon 

 a leaf or branch, or top of a twig, opens her spinnerets 

 and emits a thread which the wind takes up and carries 

 out until it entangles on some adjacent object. At 

 other times she drops from her perch, spinning after 

 her a thread, to the end of which she hangs in a little 

 meshed basket rapidly woven. While swinging in this 

 position she emits her trial lines as before. 



" Now, let us suppose our orbweaver seated upon this 

 tall cat-tail, seeking to make her web (Fig. 67). The wind 

 blows straight across the Kun, and carries out her thread. 

 It catches upon the opposite clump of flags, a fact which 

 the engineer at once perceives, and draws the line taut. 

 She pulls upon it with her feet to test it, then ven- 

 tures upon it, and rapidly runs across, dragging after 

 her a second cord, which unites with and strengthens 

 the first. 



" I chanced to be in New York when Farrington, the 

 engineer, made the first voyage upon the initial cables 

 of the Brooklyn bridge across the East Kiver, and, upon 

 invitation of a friend, went down to witness the transit. 

 As I watched the bold fellow hung far aloft and moving 

 above the sea waves beneath, I was so forci])ly re- 

 minded of this behavior of my spider friends which I 

 have just been describing, that I could not forbear 

 pointing out the likeness to my friend, a distinguished 

 engineer, very much to his disgust (Fig. 68.) 



"The cable which the spider has thus formed is 

 strengthened by several overlays, made in successive 



