DISEASES OF THE COTTON PLANT. 
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webs securely sheltered from the sun and rain, under or 
between the leaves, waiting patiently for every stray moth 
that is 60 unfortunate as to fly into their nets. With the 
fore-feet carefully placed on a line leading to the radiating 
net-work, in order to feel the tremulous motion imparted 
to it by the unavailing efforts of any captive insect to 
escape, the spider remains perfectly motionless until some 
straggling fly happens to become entangled when it im- 
mediately rushes down the central line, and, after tying 
the limbs of its unfortunate victim with a loose web of silk, 
in order to arrest its struggles for life, deliberately gives it 
the death-wound, drags the carcass to its den, and devours 
it at leisure. Other spiders hunt for and capture their 
insect prey in a maimer similar to that practised by the cat. 
One of them at first approaches an unconscious victim so 
gently as not to awaken its suspicion, at the same time 
taking advantage of every inequality of stem or leaf, in 
order to conceal itself, until within springing distance, and 
then jumping suddenly upon its back, killing it with its 
powerful hooked fangs. It then sucks out the whole of its 
juices, leaving only the empty skin, to be blown away by 
the wind. 
Another description of a small spider, about the tenth 
of an inch in length, of a light-drab color, with two or 
more dark spots on its back, was found very numerous 
inside of the involucre, or ruffle, of the cotton bloom, bud, 
and boll, where it is said to be useful to the planter in 
destroying very young boll-worms. In many cases, where 
the eggs of the boll-worm moth had been deposited and 
hatched out, and the young worms had eaten through the 
outer calyx, and already partially pierced a hole in the 
young bud, or boll, it was frequently observed that no 
worm could be discovered inside ; but upon opening such 
