510 THE GARDEN-SPIDER. 



could furnish at will, had bound them firmly together, so that his elevated habitation was 

 anchored on all sides. From whatever airt the wind blew it had at once halser and stay. 

 Not only did he bind the heads together, but he bent, doubled, and fastened them down as a 

 thatch roof, under which his habitation was suspended. 



"As he was a larger spider than usual, his house was large ; the more capacious apart- 

 ment, which I believe was the nursery, being below ; and the smaller one, which was his 

 observatory or watch-tower, being above, from which he could pounce upon his prey, or, in 

 case of hostile attack, could make his escape by a postern gate, so as to conceal himself 

 among the grass. 



"During my visit in June last, I was anxious, as we returned from Whiting Bay, to 

 ascertain whether this interesting colony of tent-makers was still in a thriving state, and not 

 seeing any at first, I began to fear that a Highland clearance had taken place. When I at 

 last discovered a few of them, I saw that, as there are times of low trade among our indus- 

 trious two-footed artisans in town, so are there occasionally hard times among our six-footed 

 operatives in the country. The field in which they encamped had, I suppose, been over- 

 stocked. The stately Holcus had been eaten down ; but these shifty children of the mist had 

 availed themselves of the heather, doubling down the tops of some of the heath-sprigs, and 

 under ttiis thatched canopy forming their suspension-tabernacles. As yet, however, it was 

 too early in the season. The house had only one apartment ; the web of which it was formed 

 was as yet thin, so that through it I could see the spider, which, being but half-grown, had 

 not yet got in perfection its fine tiger -like markings. ' Go to the ant, thou sluggard ;' go 

 also to the spider. He who taught the one taught the other ; and learning humility, let both 

 teach thee." 



SEVERAL strange-looking creatures, having their bodies covered with points, knobs, and 

 spines, in a most formidable array, belong to the families termed Acrosoma, JEripus, Garter- 

 acantha, and Iteniza. These curious spiders inhabit several of the hot parts of the earth, and 

 are remarkable for the extreme hardness of their skin and the brilliancy of their coloring. 

 The skin of these arachnids is as hard and firm as the shelly armor of the crustaceans, and 

 really startling to the touch. There is, however, one spider, the Sclerarachne, which even 

 surpasses them in the hardness of its skin. This is a very small species, with six eyes, a 

 native of Cuba, and. evidently forms one of the links between the true spiders and the mites. 

 The name Sclerarachne is of Greek origin, and literally signifies "hard-spider." 



During their life-time these spiders literally glitter with resplendent hues, and gleam 

 like living gems set in the deep verdure of the forests. Crimson, azure, emerald, and purple 

 adorn these remarkable Arachnida, and in several species the skin looks exactly as if it 

 were made of burnished gold and silver. After death these glaring colors vanish and 

 change into dull browns and blacks, but in many cases a few relics of the former beauty are 

 still discernible, especially in those specimens where the surface once glittered with metallic 

 radiance. 



A collection of spiders belonging to the genera Acrosoma and Gasteracantha presents a 

 most extraordinary appearance. There seems to be no bound to the variety of spines and spikes 

 with which the bodies of these creatures are armed ; and had it not been for the lack of space, 

 a few illustrations would have been wholly filled with their strange and weird-like forms. The 

 object of these appendages is quite unknown. Some writers have suggested that they may be 

 intended as defensive armor, and given for the purpose of deterring birds from eating them. 

 But this opinion is quite untenable, as there is no reason why they should be thus guarded 

 more than any other spiders. Indeed, this is another of the many mysteries of zoology, which 

 will never be unveiled until we learn to look beneath the surface and to inquire not only the 

 object of a color or formation, but its meaning. 



In the illustration of the GARDEN-SPIDER, only the female is given, which is one of the 

 fiercest Amazons of the spider race ; and in case she should object to the attentions of her 

 intended spouse, he must needs flee for his life, a feat which he generally performs by flinging 

 himself out of the web, and lowering himself quickly to earth with his silken ladder. This 



