July 13, 1893, ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
25 
continued warm weather has hastened on those frequent changes 
of skin through which these insects pass, or perhaps their food has 
been extra abundant, the development of numerous species having 
been earlier from the cause just mentioned. Along the lanes in 
some parts of England the profusion of spider webs on the banks 
has been noticeable, these appearing very conspicuous. Owing to the 
dryness of the herbage, also from the absence of rain, the spiders 
have not had to expend silk in the manufacture of new webs, so 
have used the material to strengthen the old ones. 
About gardens spiders have been plentiful, but in these they 
meet with molestation, if they escape with life, few people being 
of Mr. A. Murray’s opinion, that “ spiders are the most powerful 
insect friends of mankind.” Obviously, in the case of the web 
makers, those that furnish food to the spiders are only a per¬ 
centage of the insects that are snared and killed ; and in the 
group of hunters, though the species are less destructive, each 
victim being a separate seizure, they are abundant and very 
active. I find it is a common supposition that spiders are blind, 
but they have from two to eight simple eyes, though in securing 
their prey they seem to be principally guided by the sense of 
touch, and not sight. A proof that they do see is the excite¬ 
ment they may be noticed to manifest when a party of social 
flies are passing their webs. By sight, too, evidently a spider 
decides concerning some insects it may capture in its web but does 
not choose to meddle with, and therefore ejects by cutting the 
cords round them, or else leaves them alone. It is not at all 
uncommon in the garden to see an unlucky earwig struggling in some 
spider’s web, and we should be grateful to the insect if it helped to 
diminish the numbers of this foe to choice flowers ; but usually 
spiders refuse to touch earwigs. Apparently the forceps at the 
tail of an earwig, which has no power as a weapon, and serves to 
adjust or fold the wings, is regarded by a spider with alarm. 
Many caterpillars fall by accident, or are blown, into spiders’ 
webs ; some of these are not to the taste of a spider, and so 
they are left to escape if they can ; some are secured, and after¬ 
wards sucked. It is amusing to see a spider’s surprise when it has 
in its web one of the leaf-rolling caterpillars that may have 
dropped from some Rose. The spider turns it round and round in 
silk, hoping to secure it ; but the captive objects to the operation, 
and unrolls itself speedily, having plenty of muscular force, till 
the matter is ended by some punctures from the spider’s fangs. 
Hunting or wandering spiders are seldom killed by gardeners, 
except accidentally. The web-makers are not unfrequently 
destroyed with their webs ; we must sometimes remove these, but 
if we gave the worker a chance of escape it might spin another 
web in a spot where it would kill insects without annoying us. 
I have already referred to the conspicuous and regularly formed 
webs of the spiders which are well known in our gardens, and by 
which hosts of insects are captured to our benefit. Yery different 
webs are formed by other spiders ; that of Ciniflo ferox and its 
relatives, for instance, is so irregular and ragged that it looks like 
an old or waste web. But it serves as a snare, and is indeed very 
sticky, taking many small insects, though it appears open. One 
thing is that some of the threads are fine and scarcely noticed by 
the eye ; under the microscope they are beautiful in form, also 
having a bluish tint. Then there is the spider often called daddylong¬ 
legs, though the name is also given to the crane fly. This occurs 
both in and out of doors. The web is placed on walls or palings 
in gardens ; it is loose and net-like. The maker, in science called 
Pholcus phalangoides, frequently wanders far from its web. The 
pale body, which is slightly marked, is long ; the legs much longer, 
with knee-joints curiously thickened. 
In the genus Therideon, where the rounded abdomen of the 
spider overhangs the thorax, the snares that are made are very 
irregular fine threads running in various directions over the tops of 
plants or the sides of bushes. Occasionally we notice about the 
flower garden the cocoons made by this genus for the protection 
of their eggs. A familiar one is that of T. pallens, a little brown- 
and-white spider, which puts its cocoon on the under side of some 
leaf. This few would connect with the spider ; it is a Pear-shaped 
object of a glossy white, and has several points projecting from 
its surface. Another species, T. lineatum, which has black lines on 
its greenish body, secures its cocoons from peril by doubling over 
the leaf on which it is placed. This cocoon is round, and blue or 
bluish green. A species rather uncommon makes in gardens a tent¬ 
like nest, about 2 inches long, close to the irregular web. It is 
generally not far from the ground, and the spider called T. riparium 
roofs it to keep out the rain, covering the top of this nest with 
fragments of earth or bits of leaves and flowers. The eggs are 
enclosed in a slight covering of silk as well. What is more remark¬ 
able in this spider’s history is that she feeds her progeny for some 
time, and they live amicably together ; the food is chiefly ants, it is 
stated, which she catches on the soil or on twigs. A Therideon 
that is abundant about gardens in South Europe is much favoured 
by growers of Grapes, because they think that its filmy webs 
extended over the Vines keep away some insects from the ripening 
fruit. There is a larger species, brown in colour, mottled with 
black, that is found in many conservatories, and which is supposed 
to be of foreign parentage, having been imported with plants. A 
species allied to the preceding constructs amongst masses of foliage 
in gardens and shrubberies a web, which appears large as compared 
with the size of the spider, Linyphia montana, which, though 
small, is active and ravenous ; it is greyish brown, or sometimes 
blackish. The snare it constructs is a fine horizontal sheet, over 
this are suspended numerous lines crossing each other, and some 
helping to secure the web. Insects that might escape this strike 
against these upper lines, and falling are seized by the vigilant 
spider below. 
Prominent amongst the hunting spiders are those of the genus 
Thomasus, mostly garbed in showy tints of black, yellow, green, 
and red. They are decidedly crab-like, having broad bodies, and 
long, powerful fore legs ; some of them that chase their prey can 
move either forwards, backwards, or sideways with great rapidity. 
Others have a habit of lurking in crevices, or under little stones in 
the soil. The common wolf-spider (Lycosa saccata) has its Latin 
name from the bag of eggs which the female is often seen dragging 
about. This is a wandering spider, allied to the famous tarentula 
of Italy. Some hunting spiders leap upon their victims. Salticus 
scenicus is one of these, frequent upon the leaves of garden plants ; 
it destroys many flies. We know it by the grey ground and white 
bars, also by its habit of jerking out a thread when it springs.— 
Entomologist. 
STRAWBERRIES IN HAMPSHIRE. 
In spite of the great heat and drought experienced some market 
growers consider this to be a good season for Strawberries. There may 
not have been such a quantity of fruit as in some seasons, but the 
prices have ruled fairly high throughout. The Strawberry crop in this 
neighbourhood was an early one. Picking commenced May 14th with 
some growers as compared with the first week in June in past seasons. 
The best price realised that I can hear of was 5s. 6d. per gallon of about 
51 lbs., or Is. per lb. By June 8th the price had dropped to 23. Gd. per 
gallon, a little later to Is. the gallon ; even at this price the crop is 
remunerative. 
Strawberry growing for market in this part of the county is un¬ 
doubtedly on the increase. Within a radius of five miles from Botley 
there cannot be less than 400 acres under cultivation, ranging in plots 
from a quarter to five acres. From Botley Station the bulk of the fruit 
used to be sent, but since the opening of the line from Fareham to Netley 
much of the fruit is despatched from Swan wick, a small station on that 
line. The output from this station alone was from 30 to 40 tons per 
week, as many as 50 tons going away in one week. The punnet and 
box are now superseded by cross-handled baskets holding one gallon 
each, as many as from 15,000 to 16,000 leaving the station named in 
one day. So much has this method of despatching the fruit come into 
vogue that the railway company have specially fitted vans with tiers 
of shelves for the reception of these baskets. The simplicity of these 
baskets is all in their favour ; no packing material \vhatever is needed, 
the fruit is picked direct into them, a sheet of white paper is fastened 
securely over the fruit by tying it to the basket rim. The fruit is 
picked before it is dead ripe and therefore does not suffer in transit, but 
any barely ripe at the time of gathering becomes thoroughly so during 
the long railway journey to the midland and northern towns. Some 
growers who send their fruit to the local towns of Portsmouth, South¬ 
ampton, and Winchester pack in square light deal boxes holding a 
gallon ; these being made of the same size, are easily stowed away tier 
upon tier in spring carts and vans without any packing material what¬ 
ever. Some, however, lay a single frond of the common Bracken on 
the top of each box, which has a tendency to keep the fruit cool, but as 
the journey by road is done during the night or very early in the morn¬ 
ing the fruit does not suffer from the effects of the hot sun. Much of the 
picking is done in the early morning, therefore is in a better state for 
travelling than when gathered during the daytime. 
In a season like the present the quantity and quality of fruit vary 
according to the soil in which the plants are grown. In one garden, 
where the subsoil is clay, the top soil is heavy loam, the situation being 
low, the yield of fruit has been a heavy one. Several row’s of plants 
(five years old, 18 feet long) gave one gallon of fruit each at one picking, 
averaging 2s. 6d. the gallon, which cannot be regarded other than a 
remunerative crop. From the same garden 100 gallons were gath^ed 
at one picking, and sold at the price quoted, this quantity being taken 
from less than a quarter of an acre. This w’as the best picking from 
that plot, many more of less quantity being gathered frotn the same 
plot. These few figures tend to show the remunerative character of 
Strawberry growing when carried out on proper lines. The same garden 
of If acre in the Jubilee year yielded £3 worth of hay, which cost 30s. 
to make ; it was then under grass. By degrees the whole of it has been 
broken up and planted mainly with Strawberries, which more than 
once since that year have given the occupier a net gain of ^100. 
As to varieties, but few are grown by the market men. Sir Joseph 
Paxton is the sheet anchor of the whole district. This sort is the best 
for either a wet or a dry season, grows freely and crops heavily, and is 
