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RURAL HOURS- 
determined to wound her long-legged foe on the head, probably 
by a bite with her poisonous fangs ; now the wasp seemed the 
sufferer ; now again the spider relaxed her hold a little. A fresh 
assault of the spider was followed by a violent struggle of the 
wasp, when, suddenly, whether by good luck or good manage- 
ment one could not see, the web broke, the wasp's wings were 
free ; he rose from the leaf, and he carried the spider with him, 
whether as a captive or a pertinacious enemy, one could not de- 
termine ; they were soon out of sight. Perhaps the wasp found, 
before he alighted, that he had " caught a Tartar." About five 
minutes after the disappearance of the combatants, a wasp alighted 
on the very same spot where the joust had taken place, and he 
had a sort of agitated, eager flutter about him. It was either the 
same individual who had been engaged in the fray, or else a 
stranger, who, by scent or otherwise, discovered traces of the con- 
test. If it was the hero of the fight, possession of the field of 
battle and the enemy's country, established his claim as victor ; 
but if only an ally, the fortune of the day still remains in the 
dark, and, like many other great battles, may be claimed by both 
parties. 
Some of our American wasps are said to hunt spiders, and 
then enclose them in the cell with their young, who feed upon 
them. But in the battle this afternoon the spider was clearly the 
aggressor. These battles between the two races are frequent ; 
but the bees and spiders seem to keep the peace. 
We have but few wasps here ; our most common kind is this 
black variety ; the large, brown wasps, so abundant elsewhere, 
are unknown about the village. A smaller variety, called hornets 
here, are not uncommon. But fortunately for us, the pleasant, 
