158 



XL 



MAY 25th. 



Spiders' Webs. — White and Red Death. — Violets. — Breeches Flower. — 

 Dandelion. — Plum Blossoms. — Humming-bird — its beauty, activity, 

 habits — interesting Anecdote — peculiar mode of flight. — Scarlet 

 Tanagers. — Crows. — Raven. — Black-poll Warbler. — Song Sparrow. — 

 Snow-bird. — Cat-bird. — Perfume from the Maple. — Leafing of the Ash 

 — White and Brown Ash. — Native Fishes. — Shad — Maskilonge — 

 Sturgeon — White Dolphin. — Seals. — Common Dolphin. — Capture of 

 one. — Strange cetaceous Animal. — Caterpillars. — Orange Comma Butter- 

 fly. — Butternut. — Moose wood. — Basswood. — Red Currant. — Great 

 homed Owl. — Striped Squirrel. — Red Squirrel — its playful tricks — agi- 

 lity, — Anecdote. — Other Squirrels. 



Chables. — We can scarcely take a walk in the dewy- 

 morning without feeling our faces come in contact with 

 the fine gossamer webs, which are stretched from fence to 

 fence, and from tree to tree. They are so slight as to be 

 invisible, except when the light is directly reflected from 

 them, but the tickling sensation when they touch the face 

 detects them in a moment. How does the spider manage 

 to stretch his web through the air from one point to another 

 so far distant, as he has no power of flight ? 



Father. — That is a very curious inquiry, and one which 

 has given rise to much research and experiment, and much 

 controversy ; and yet it does not appear that the point is 

 settled. Some maintain that the spider has the power of 

 shooting out long filaments of silk in any direction, which 

 are waved by the wind till they are entangled in some object ; 

 others affirm that the wind is necessary to produce these 



