INSTINCT OF SPIDERS.

(_For the Mirror._)

The following fact is copied from a French work entitled _Archives sur

Anatomie_:--"A small spider had spread its net between two neighbouring

trees, at the height of about nine feet. The three principal points, to

which the supporting threads were attached, formed here as they usually

do, an equilateral triangle. One thread was attached above to each of

the trees, and the web hung from the middle of it. To procure a third

point of attachment, the spider had suspended a small stone to one end

of a thread; and the stone being heavier than the spider itself, served

in place of the lower fixed point, and held the web extended. The little

pebble was five feet from the earth." The whole was observed, and is

described by Professor Weber, of Leipsig.

The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 384, August 8, 1829 · 第 17 / 41 题