Che popular Science jStxus 
AND 
BOSTON JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY. 
Volume XXIV. 
BOSTON, NOVEMBER, 1890. 
Number ii. 
CONTENTS. 
Familiar Science. — How the Spider Spins 
Her Web i6i 
Curious Movements of the Amaryllis . . i6i 
Geological Development — Petrifactions and 
Fossils 162 
The Way of "the Lightning 163 
A Natural Ice-House 163 
Anchor Ice, or Ground Ice 163 
Glaciers : Their Formation and Their March 164 
Scientific Brevities 164 
Questions and Answers 164 
Practical Chemistry and the Arts. — Some 
New Laboratory Devices 165 
Ordinary Actions of Oxygen 165 
Industrial Memoranda 166 
Practical Recipes 166 
The Out-Door World. — Award of the Prize 167 
Geological Observations — Summer of 1890 . 167 
Natural History Observations — Summer of 
1S90 168 
Editorial. — The Measurement of Minute 
Forces 170 
The Highest Scientific Station in Europe . 170 
Brief Studies in Biology 171 
Animal Intelligence 172 
Meteorology for September, 1890 .... 172 
Astronomical Phenomena for November, 1890 173 
Literary Notes 173 
Medicine and Pharmacy. — Specialism in 
Medicine 174 
i^k State Regulation of Medicine 174 
HLExecution by Electricity 174 
^fnrhe New York Pasteur Institute .... 175 
^^nionthly Summary of Medical Progress . . 175 
* Publishers' Column 176 
Baniiliar Scieijce- 
HOW THE SPIDER SPINS HER WEB. 
The more one studies the habits of that 
unpopular, but interesting animal, the spider, 
the more wonderful its structure and habits 
appear. It possesses the mysterious faculty 
which we call instinct — for want of a better 
name — in the highest degree, being scarcely 
exceeded by the wasps and bees, and in the 
construction of its webs it evinces the posses- 
sion of geometrical knowledge superior to 
that of most men. 
In the world of spiders the principle of 
"woman's rights" is fully established. The 
female spins the web and manages all the 
domestic arrangements, while the unfortunate 
masculine spiders, small in body and weak in 
mind, are only tolerated in tiie arachnoid 
household for a while, and are often nierci- 
les.sly killed by their better halves as soon as 
they become tired of their society. 
The web of the spider is secreted by 
certain glands as a thick, viscous liquid, 
and passes into the air through organs 
known as spinnerets, several groups of which 
are situated on the under side of the abdo- 
men. These spinnerets are grouped together 
in different forms — sometimes in sheaf-like 
bunches (Fig. i), or finger-shaped (2), or in 
the shape of a rosette (3). Each of these 
spinnerets is pierced with innumerable holes, 
like the nose of a watering-pot, from each 
of which a stream of the web-making fluid 
flows, as shown, many times magnified, in 4. 
Fig. I. 
As soon as the fluid reaches the air it hardens 
at once, the many different streams of fluid 
uniting to form a single thread ; so that, fine 
as is the thread spun by the spider, it is really 
a cable, composed of many hundred still finer 
fibres. 
Another curious fact in regard to the web 
is, that the different spinnerets produce 
threads of different kinds, varying in fine- 
ness, strength, elasticity, and adhesiveness. 
It is as if a single cow could give two or 
more kinds of milk, with varying proportions 
of butter or casein. 
.The spider not only spins, but weaves. 
Her claws (Fig. 2) are miniature combs of 
different degrees of fineness, and by their aid 
Fig. 3. 
she smooths and arranges the threads as they 
are formed, as easily as a lady would comb 
her hair. The different species weave their 
webs in many different forms, but perhaps the 
most beautiful of all is that of the geometrical 
spider, whose web is a very common orna- 
ment of our gardens in the early part of the 
day. The foundation cords of this web are 
put in place by the aid of the wind. The 
spider stnnds in the proper position on the 
branch of a tree or bush, and spins a thread, 
the end of which floats freely in the air, and 
is carried by the slightest breeze to some 
neighboring branch, to which it attaches 
itself. The spider thus makes a pathway for 
herself, which she quickly traverses, and 
repeats the operation until the outlines of the 
web are formed. Then, passing from one 
part of the web to another, she puts in place 
the threads which radiate from the center like 
the spokes of a wheel, and fills in the whole 
with the cross threads, until a light, elastic, 
but wonderfully strong net is formed, ready 
to hold the early-rising fly or other insect in 
its meshes until she can seize it and quiet its 
struggles with a minute drop of paralyzing 
poison, after which she drags the unfortunate 
insect to her den in the center of the web, 
and feasts upon it at her leisure. 
The above are only a very few out of many 
wonderful facts connected with the history 
and habits of these common and despised 
animals ; and for those who find pleasure in 
the pursuit of natural history, we can recom- 
mend their study as interesting and profitable 
in the highest degree, while the "material" 
for such investigations is abundant and unfail- 
•"g- ^ . 
CURIOUS MOVEMENTS OF THE 
AMARYLLIS. 
A CORRESPONDENT of La Nature de- 
scribes a .curious observation, made the past 
spring, upon an amaryllis (^Leucoitim) grow- 
ing in the central part of France. 
The spring in that region opened unusually 
early, and by the last of February one of these 
little plants had blossomed in the garden of 
the writer. But on the first of March a 
"cold wave" passed over the country, and 
the thermometer fell in the night to 12° F. 
The next morning the flower was found bent 
over to the earth, as shown in the illustra- 
tion, and apparently dead. But, strangely 
enough, as the sun rose higher in the heavens 
and the temperature reached 50°, the amaryllis 
arose from the earth, assuming its usual up- 
right position, and was apparently none the 
worse for its untimely refrigeration. 
The following night was again extremely 
cold ; the same movement was repeated, 
and a closer examination of the flower 
showed that it was, undoubtedly, a measure 
