Il6 NATURE STUDY. 



watching the unconsciousness of childhood and the filmy 

 thread. 



Its strength and tenacity made evident the fact that silk 

 of spider manufacture might be of high commercial value. 

 It is said to have a more beautiful luster than that of silk- 

 worm production, and the capacity of some species is of 

 sufiicient amount to make the experiment profitable, did 

 it not require so much time to separate the strands from 

 cocoon or directl}' from the spider itself. 



Other difficulties in the way are the nature of food re- 

 quired and the antagonistic spirit which prevails between 

 the sexes, or the utter disregard of kin, which makes 

 necessar}- the keeping of each spider separate, making 

 large demands upon room space. 



The experiment of silk manufacture was tried in Eng- 

 land not long since with a species of spider imported from 

 Africa which furnished large quantities of silk. It was be- 

 lieved at first, that it would prove successful, but for some 

 of the causes just mentioned it was found impossible to 

 breed them in large numbers; and that the silk would be- 

 come too expensive for use. 



We know that sonie ants keep " cows," that others grow grain and 

 harvest it, and that others still grow mushrooms under ground. 

 Now comes another storj' of ant sagacity. Not long ago a French 

 explorer, M. Charles Meissen, in traveling through Siam, observed 

 a species of small graj^ ants which were new to him. To his sur- 

 prise he noticed among them from time to time an occasional ant 

 which was much larger than the others and moved at a much swift- 

 er pace, and each of these larger ants, M. Meissen saw, always car- 

 ried one of the gray ants on its back. This discovery led him to 

 watch their movements closely. He soon saw that while the main 

 body of their own sort mounted on one of these larger ants, he 

 mounted and detached himself now and then from the line rode rapid- 

 ly to the head came s-ndftly back to the rear, and seemed to be in com- 

 mand of the expedition. 



