which lasts about twelve days. She is 

 a close sitter and seldom leaves the nest. 

 Her mate remains in the vicinity and 

 faithfully watches for intruders. The 

 young are fed only on insect food, of 

 which they consume an exceedingly 

 large amount each day. The parents 

 must work very hard to obtain such a 

 quantity of food. The nests vary both 

 in form and in the manner of construc- 

 tion. The form depends upon the kind 

 of support to which it is attached. When 

 attached to the face of the support it is 

 semi-circular, but if placed on a fiat sup- 

 port it is circular. The nest is a thick 

 walled cup or cup-like bracket construct- 

 ed largely with moss and mud and. lined 

 with plant-down, mosses, fine grasses 



and horse-hairs. The same pair of Phoe- 

 bes are believed to return to the same 

 place year after year and if they do not- 

 always avail themselves of the same nest- 

 ing site they select one which is near by. 

 Regarding the economic value of the 

 Phoebes Mr. Beal says : "An examina- 

 tion of eighty stomachs showed that over 

 ninety-three per cent of the year's food 

 consists of insects and spiders, while 

 wild fruits constitute the remainder. The 

 insects belong chiefly to noxious species." 

 As two broods, each numbering from 

 four to six young, are generally raised 

 each season, it is quite evident that a sin- 

 gle pair must materially reduce the num- 

 ber of insects in the vicinity of their 

 nest. 



SPIDER COURTSHIP. 



. Courting among spiders is decidedly 

 a dangerous occupation, for, sad to say, 

 in the spider world the female is more 

 fierce and depraved than the male. She 

 is larger, also, and the gentleman spider 

 who goes to woo his lady, braves much 

 more than a mere refusal or a possible 

 unconventional exit from the house at 

 the hands or feet of an irate parent. In 

 fact, he carries his life in his hands, so 

 to speak, for Miss Spider invariably 

 tries to eat her rejected suitor. Nor is 

 acceptance a guarantee of continued 

 safety, for the capricious lady has an 

 original and efifective solution of the 

 divorce problem. When she grows tired 

 of her husband she simply makes a 

 meal of him. 



Those who have watched a spider 

 courtship must agree that the spectacle 

 is an interesting one. When she sees 

 her humble admirer approaching, my 

 lady takes up her position in the center 

 of her web. The gentleman advances 

 quite rapidly at first, but slows consid- 

 erably as he gets nearer, and prepares 

 to beat a hasty retreat should the lady 

 of his affection attack him. When with- 

 in about four inches of the web center 

 he begins to show off his dancing. He 



goes through some wonderful balancing 

 feats, which his dear one watches with 

 apparent interest, often changing her 

 position, as though to gain a better 

 view. If she seems satisfied the would- 

 be husband moves toward her, in a se- 

 ries of semi-circles. If she should re- 

 sent his approach she will make a dash 

 at him, and he will run for his life. She 

 may follow him, and in that case he 

 needs to be lively. But generally she 

 contents herself with a pretense of pur- 

 suit, and he returns to try his luck once 

 more. He edges up very closely this 

 time, though still with caution. He be- 

 gins his dance again and she joins in, 

 and soon both are whirling as fast as 

 they can go. 



The gentleman, after a few seconds re- 

 treats somewhat, but the lady, now thor- 

 oughly worked up, begins to consider 

 his good points. If the result of her 

 meditation is acceptance, they embrace, 

 if not, the gentleman soon becomes 

 aware of the state of her feelings, and, 

 again, is obliged to run, this time, at top 

 speed. After this, there is no return, 

 and no gentleman, in fact, should the 

 lady succeed in catching him. 



Louise Jamison. 



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