HOP CULTURE. 91 



menfaria). Fig. 17, the oyes magnified. Figiirps 18 and 19, parU of the foot and claw mag- 

 nified. Knssi a-scortained that the foinalp of an alliod spocies (Mijf^alc savvagesii, Latr.), 

 found in Corsica, lived in one of these nests, wilh a imniei'ous posterity. lie destroyed one 

 of the doors to observe whiUlier a new one would be made, which it was ; Vmt it was fixed 

 immovably, without a hinge; tlie spider, no doubt, fortitying hereelf in this manner till she 

 thought she might re6i>cn it without danger.* 



" The Rev. Ilevett Shepherd has often noticed, in the fen ditches of Norfolk, a very larere spi 

 der (the species not yet determined) which actually forms a raft for the purpose of obtainiDfj^ its 

 prey with more facility. Keeping its station upon a ball of wi.-eds about tlircc inches in diameter, 

 probably licld toi;eilier by 8lis:lit silken cords, it is wafted along the surface of llie water upon 

 this floatina^ island, wliicb it quits the moment it sees a drowning insect. The booty thus seized 

 it devours at leisure upon its raft, under which it retires when alarmed by any danger."! 



Ill the spring of 1830, Mr. Ronnie foiuid a spider on some reeds in the Croydon Canal, 

 which agreed in appearance witii Mr. iShepiierd's. 



The Watf.r-Si'iokr. — We e.vtract the following exquisitely bea'itiful and interesting fact 

 in nature, vonucrfrd wUk diving operalions, from Rev. Mr. Kirby's Bridgewater Treatise: 



"The Water-Ppider is one of the most remarkable upon whom that office (diving] ia developed 

 by her Creator. To this end, her instinct instructs her to fabricate a kind of diving-bell in the 

 bosom of that element. She usually selects still w atcrs for this purpose. Her house is an oval 

 cocoon, lilled with air, and lined Nvitli silk, from which threads issue in every direction, and are 

 fastened to the surrounding plants ; in this cocoon, which is open below, she watches for her prey, 

 and even appears to pass the winter, when she closes the opening It is most commonly, yet not 

 always, entirely under water; but its inhabitant has filled it with air for her respiration, which 

 enables her in live in it. She conveys the air to it in the following wamier : she usually swims 

 upon her bac-k, when her abdomen is enveloped in a bubble of air, and appears like a globe of 

 quicksilver; with this she enters her cocoon, and, displacing an equal ma,ss of water, again as- 

 cends for a second lading, till she has sufficiently filled her liouse with it, so as to expel all the 

 water, 



" The males construct similar habitations by the same manceuvres. How these little animals 

 can envelop their abdomen with an air-bubble, and retain it till they enter their cells, is still one 

 of'Nature"s mysteries that have not been explained. 



" We. however, cannot help admiring and adoring the wisdom, power, and goodness manifest- 

 ed in this singular provision, enabling an animal that breathes the atmospheric air to fill her house 

 with it under water, and which has instructed her in a secret art, hi/ which ,s/ic can clothe part 

 of her body with air as a garment, and which she can put ofl' when it answers her purpose. 



" This is a kind of attrnction and repulsion vyhich mocks all our inquiries." 



Thus it appears that by the successive descents of the little water-spider under the impul- 

 sion of its instinct, produce effects in its subaqueous pavilion equivalent to those produced 

 in the diving-bell, or diving helmet, by the successive strokes of the condensing air-pump of 

 scientific man ! 



In the language of the book of Psalms, this in.^ect " Laveth the beams of" her " cham- 

 bers IN THE WATERS," and thcro sccures her subaqueous chambers in the manner described. 



* Mem. See. d'Hist. Nat. dn Paris. An. vii. p. 125, and Laireille, Hist. Nat. G6ndr. viii. p. 163. 

 t Kirby and Spence, Intr. i. 425. 



HOP CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



INFORMATION WANTED. 



Washington, Feb. 27, 1846. 

 My Dear Sir: A valued correspondent in Germany wishes the accompanying questions respecting the 

 culture and trade of hops in our community. Pray, if you can, resolve me the within. 



Most respectfully, yours, FRANCIS MARKOE, Jr. 



To John S. Skinnek, Esq. 



1 . Where hops are cultivated in the United States ? 



2. Which places are the superior situations ? 



3. Arc there good commercial houses in that line, and which are the first ? 



4. Are there houses capable of giving such commercial intelligence about this trade, out 

 of which one may be able to fonn a judgment? And, in case such a house could be found, 

 ■would it be kind enough to make such a statement? 



5. How much hops there are cultivated in the U. S. in good years? 



6. What is the homo consumption ? the ex])()rt. and where does it go to piincipally ? 



7. Request to give an intelli<jenco about the la.st harvest ? 



8. What are the conditions for purchase and shipping? 



Any other necessary and useful inforuiation will be thankfully accepted. 



[The Editor of the Farmers' Library, New- York, will feci much obliged to 



(l8-j 



