THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



59 



"AT HOME." 



. . ERPOOL. — C. S. Gregson will be at home 

 every Sunday until March next. Micro- 

 lepidopterists, coleopterists, and artists 

 should come early to secure good light ; 

 general naturalists any time from nine 

 a.m. to nine p.m. — Rose Bank, Fletcher 

 Grove Edge Lane, Liverpool. 



HuDDERSFiELD. — S. L. Moslcy every Sat- 

 urday afternoon, 



(We shall be glad of additions to this list ) 



NOTES, CAPTURES, See. 



Spider crossing a running stream. — 

 There are many remarkable feats related of 

 spiders by different writers, but I simply 

 wish to record an instance of the persevering 

 and ingenious efforts made by a large garden 

 spider in crossing a stream about six feet 

 wide. The stream in question was a rippling 

 bruok, running by the side of a stone wall, 

 with the side next to the wall plentifully 

 overhung with briars, furze, and broom 

 bushes. The other side was destitute of 

 bushes, and was ploughed down almost 

 close to the water's edge. Being one day 

 in the month of September, 1861, on a 

 fishing excursion to this brook, and finding 

 very little sport, I sat down on a large knot 

 of grass, and began to devour a sandwich 

 which I found lodged in the comer of my 

 coat pocket. Whilst so engaged, I observed 

 a spider creeping up a tall stalk of grass 

 close to the side of the water. On reaching 

 the top, it rested itself a minute or two, the 

 stalk swaying to and fro with the weight of 

 the insect. It immediately descended, and 

 then crept up another stalk. It thus went 

 on for a considerable time, creeping up one 

 stalk and then another, always selecting the 

 highest, and seeming to rest about the same 

 length of time on the very top of each stalk. 

 I wondered what could be the object of this 

 apparently strange conduct. Leaving the 

 grass, the spider crept to the top of a large 



stone, which projected about a couple of 

 feet into the stream. Here it sat for a 

 while, crouching as if it had taken up its 

 seat for the night. However, it again began 

 to move, and this time descended the stone 

 to the edge of the water, leaving its silken 

 thread attached to the place where it had 

 been sitting. Coiling itself up into a round 

 ball, like a marble, it floated down the 

 middle of the stream for a distance of about 

 twenty yards, and then catching a briar 

 which reached out from the other side, 

 crept along the briar on the opposite bank, 

 and concealed itself under a broad leaf of 

 the briar bush. Here I left it. I could not, 

 however, help reflecting on the great ingen- 

 uity it had displayed in surmounting what 

 to it must have been a very great obstacle, 

 and, marking the spot, I resolved to have 

 another look at my persevering friend as I 

 returned home, 1 visited the place about 

 two hours and a half afterwards, and found 

 to my surprise that the spider had not 

 removed far from the spot where I had left 

 it. but had snugly taken up its abode under 

 another and larger leaf on the same bush. 

 I It had doubled over the leaf, made itself a 

 " house," and had spun a large circular web 

 in front of its dwelling. I had not previously 

 known that spiders ever crossed streams ; 

 but in this case we have proof that at least 

 certain species of spiders occasionally cross 

 streams of considerable extent. — J. Aitchi- 

 soN, Belford. From the Newcastle Weekly 

 Chronicle, December 17th, 1881. 



ASSISTANT NATURALISTS. 



Mr. Soutter writes — "I see by the Y.N. 

 that the idea of assistant naturalists which 

 was present in ray mind has formed expres- 

 sion in its pages. I cordially agree with 

 the project. Please enrol my name as a 

 willing assistant in all branches of Botany 

 except microscopic. I hope the plan will arouse 

 increased interest in field botany. I ho- 



