ANIMAL AVOCATIONS 
239 
float upwards into the air and carry the little 
creatures with them. Darwin gives a very 
interesting account of some of these spiders, 
the author stating: “A spider . . . while 
standing on the summit of a post, darted 
forth four or five threads from its spinners. 
These, glittering in the sunshine, might be 
compared to diverging rays of light; they 
were not, however, straight, but in undulations 
like films of silk blown by the wind. They 
were more than a yard in length and diverged 
in ascending directions from the orifices. The 
spider then suddenly let go its hold of the post 
and was quickly borne out of sight.” 
We have already dealt at some length with 
the occupation of a scavenger in our chapter 
upon vultures, but there are other members 
of the feathered folk, such as the carrion- 
crow and the adjutant stork, that also ply 
this useful vocation to the benefit of mankind. 
Special mention must also be made of the 
hyenas and jackals which are partial to a diet 
of carrion. 
Then we have the signallers, as exemplified 
by the glow-worms and the fire-flies, to which 
further reference will be found in these pages; 
while the policeman is represented in animal 
life by the king vultures, the king snake and 
the king cobra, all of which exercise their 
