lOO NATURE STUDY. 



its regularity and beauty in their own way. A maiden 

 named Arachne had been taught to weave by Minerva, 

 and grew to be so vain of her skill that she foolishly 

 boasted that she could excel her teacher. This angered 

 the goddess, who in revenge changed Arachne to a spider 

 and condemned her to go on always spinning the beautiful 

 webs that we may see to this day. It is rather a cruel story 

 of a little girl's silly pride and a goddess' more silly jeal- 

 ousy, and perhaps the best thing about it is that it is not 

 true. 



There several species of Kpeira. The individuals, when 

 grown, are mostly' large, all are beautifully marked, and 

 all are harmless. The webs are all made on the same gen- 

 eral plan, with strong threads stretching out quite regu- 

 larly from the center, like the spokes of a wheel, and with 

 another thread winding spirally round and round from the 

 center to the outer edge, or circumference. But each spe- 

 cies has its own peculiar way of hiding and resting while 

 waiting for something to happen. Some hide at the edge 

 of the web, under a leaf of the bush to which the web is 

 attached ; some weave a circular mat in the center of the 

 web, and others make a beautiful staircase of white silk, 

 running zigzag downward from the center of the web, on 

 which they rest patiently for hours and hours. 



There are many other kinds of spiders, and many styles 

 of webs, but enough of interest has already been suggest- 

 ed to keep a nature study class wide awake on many a 

 walk afield. 



The universe is so admirably fitted to our organization that the 

 eye wanders and reposes at the same time. On either side there is 

 something: to soothe and refresh the sense. — Thoreau. 



