. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Other Invertebrate-Animal Study 475 SPIDERS Teacher's Story jHE spiders are the civil engineers among the small inhabitants of our fields and woods. They build strong suspension bridges, from which they hang nets made with exquisite precision; and they build aeroplanes and balloons, which are more ef&cient than any that we have yet constructed; for although they are not exactly dirigible, yet they carry the little balloonists where they wish to go, and there are few fatal accident
. Handbook of nature-study for teachers and parents, based on the Cornell nature-study leaflets. Nature study. Other Invertebrate-Animal Study 475 SPIDERS Teacher's Story jHE spiders are the civil engineers among the small inhabitants of our fields and woods. They build strong suspension bridges, from which they hang nets made with exquisite precision; and they build aeroplanes and balloons, which are more ef&cient than any that we have yet constructed; for although they are not exactly dirigible, yet they carry the little balloonists where they wish to go, and there are few fatal accidents. More- over, the spiders are of much economic impor- tance, since they destroy countless millions of insects every year, most of which are noxiousââ like flies, mosquitoes, bugs and grasshoppers. There is an impression abroad that all spiders are dangerous to handle. This is a mistake; the bite of any of our common spiders is not nearly so dangerous as the bite of a malaria-laden mosquito. Although there is a little venom injected into the wound by the bite of any spider, yet there is no species found in the Northern States whose bite is sufficiently venomous to be feared. There is no need for studying the anatomy of the spider closely in nature-study. Our interest lies much more in the wonderful structures made by the spiders, than in a detailed study of the little creatures them- selves. Cobwebs "Here shy Arachne winds her endless thread. And weaves her silken tapestry unseen, Veiling the rough-hewn timbers overhead. And looping gossamer festoons ; âElizabeth Akers. Our house spiders are indefatigable curtain-weavers. We never sus- pect their presence, until suddenly their curtains appear before our eyes, in the angles of the ceilingsâinvisible until laden with dust. The cob- webs are made of crisscrossed lines, which are so placed as to entangle any fly that comes near. The lines are stayed to the sides of the wall and to each other quite firmly, and
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