58 Fi.AsuLioins ox Xattkh 



tion ; thus seated, slie would watch with cat-like 

 stealth for auy chance of a victiui. The inouieut 

 a fly touched the snare, however iij^htly, it would 

 set up a sli<4ht tremor of niovenient in the indi- 

 cating thread ; and, quick as li^iitnini^, informed 

 by touch of its whereabouts, out Rosalind would 

 dart, ready to j^o straij^iit to the spot and suck 

 that luckless creature's life-blood. 



Besides, the bij^j^er the lly or bee, the iiarder it 

 was likely to struj^^le ; and Rosalind noted well, 

 before startin;^, the comparative extent to which 

 the line was convulsed, antl governed herself ac- 

 cordingly. If a bij4 bumble-bee or wasp fell per- 

 adventure into her coils, he phmj^ed exceedingly ; 

 and Rosalind, prudently aware of the expected 

 stin^, approached the dangerous prey with marked 

 reserve and caution. Hut when it was only a 

 harndess small fly that struj4<fled in the net, she 

 rushed forth from her lair as bold as brass, seized 

 the body with claws and jaws, and sucked the 

 poor thinj4 dry in less than a miiuite. Then she 

 tlun<f .iway its empty skin, or cut it contemptuously 

 out of the web it had injured. 



A j^lance at the second li^ure in No. 5 will 

 show how admirably the spider's foot is adapted 

 for all these various purposes. Adaptation could 

 hardly ^o further. The spider has claws with 

 which she can hold her web like a hand ; and 

 she has also sharp nails which aid her not a little 

 in mauipulatiuLj her prev and her web. Hut she 

 has more than all these : the claws themselves, 

 you will note, are provided with toothed or comb- 



