150 In Touch with Nature. 



whole, these huge black spiders are disappointing, 

 and would scarcely have received the attention 

 that has been given them were they not superla- 

 tively ugly, and mankind naturally afraid of the 

 whole race of Arachnids. 



I was sorry to see no tarantula-hawks, as a 

 certain gigantic blue wasp is called. They are 

 formidable-looking creatures themselves, but de- 

 serve encouragement as the relentless foe of the 

 dreaded spider. It is said of them : they seem 

 " never to rest a moment, and with tireless energy 

 fly and walk rapidly along the ground, running 

 into every crevice and hole, and examining every 

 suspicious object, — after the dreaded tarantula. 

 The fate of the giant spider when discovered by 

 the hawk is both certain and attended with fas- 

 cinating horror. 



" The winged insect hovers over the victim until 

 it finds a good opportunity to sting. The poison 

 acts in a peculiar manner, the tarantula becoming 

 paralyzed." 



The twilight is short at Deming, and when the 

 sun sinks at last behind the distant hills it is 

 quickly night. The birds, unlike many a robin 



