248 NATURE-STUDY 



in sheets. The funnel spiders' webs are somewhat more 

 perfect. In the summer and early fall we often see the lawns 

 covered with dense masses of cobwebs. These are sheets of 

 web suspended from the grass, and centering about a funnel- 

 shaped hole of silk, at the bottom of which the spider lives. 

 When a fly falls into the web the spider rushes out to seize it. 



The most beautiful webs are 

 made by the garden or orb 

 spiders. These webs are fre- 

 quently seen hung nearly ver- 

 tically among the branches of 

 garden plants, the angles of 

 fences, open windows and door- 

 ways, etc. It would pay to 

 make a study of the construc- 

 tion of such a web, especially if 

 one is so fortunate as to see the 

 spider making it. Note the sup- 

 Fic.92. Funnel web spider. porting threads, the radii or 

 spokes of the wheel, and the spiral thread. Note also that only 

 the spiral thread is sticky. Examine closely and see the minute 

 globules of viscid fluid that cover this spiral thread. Some 

 species of spiders rest at the centre of the web, others lie con- 

 cealed in some leaf or other nook near the web. A thread 

 running from the web is held by the spider, which can at once 

 tell when an insect flies into the net. Take the class out into the 

 gardens or fields and study some of these webs. Throw some 

 insects into the net and see what the spider does with them. 

 There is a curious little spider, often seen in the fall, which is 

 known as the balloon spider. It causes the air to be filled 

 with delicate gossamers or threads of silk. It is a small, 



