THE SPIDER'S TELEGRAPHY 181 



By its feet it can suspend itself on its 

 almost invisible thread. The comb-claws are 

 frequently used for cleansing purposes, in much 

 the same way as the house-fly uses its feet. 



That the creature possesses some kind of 

 telephonic or telegraphic power is evident to 

 any close observer of the ways of the garden 

 spider. Whatever the nature of the power may 

 be, it is certain that the Spider can, when quite 

 out of sight in a remote end of its home, locate 

 the exact position of a fly on the web. Dr. 

 Dallinger and other writers attribute this power 

 to the exquisite sensitiveness of the spider's 

 feet. * By resting these upon a trap-line of 

 silk carried to her den she can, by a veritable 

 telegraphy, discover instantly, not only the fact 

 that there is prey upon her snare, but the exact 

 spot in the web of the snare in which that prey 

 is entangled. In the same way by seizing 

 certain tautened threads communicating with 

 the main lines of the snare, she can discover in 

 an instant the presence and position of her 

 prey, though far beyond the reach of vision.' 

 A veritable and wonderful system of telegraphy 



