One of the simplest duties of a spider's life, is the stretching of a parallel web. Tiring of her location, the spider begins to spin a thread, or tangle a mass of threads together, until they are of sufficient buoyancy to support her weight. Then she fastens one end of a strand to the point she is about to leave, and clinging to the under side of her improvised balloon, floats away with the breeze. She pays out silk until the thread parts, or she finally comes in contact with some object, and so the cable is laid.
July Twenty-ninth
Young song sparrows, chipping sparrows, field sparrows, cedar-birds, bluebirds, and robins are streaked and mottled on the breast during the first few months of their lives. Another noticeable fact is that young birds fluff their feathers, and as the old birds are often thin from care and worry, the youngsters seem larger than their parents.
July Thirtieth
The dobson, or "hellgrammite," is honored with about sixteen other names. Its chalky-white mass of eggs about the size of a dime are now common objects along inland waterways. As soon as the eggs hatch, the young dobsons drop into the water and hide beneath stones for three years, feeding on aquatic larvæ of insects.
Notes
July Thirty-first
The river crab, or crawfish, has five pairs of walking legs and six pairs of swimming legs. If a leg is lost, another will grow within a year. The female lays a large number of eggs, which are attached to the fringes of her body. These crabs have two pairs of antenna-like organs, one to feel with and the other for hearing. The compound eyes are set on two pegs that can be protruded or depressed at will.