Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 47.djvu/435

Rh authors find that "the power of expression through different attitudes and movements is of great assistance in determining not only how far the spider can see, but how much it recognizes of what it sees—or, in other words, its power of distinct vision—since it acts in one way when it catches sight of its prey, in another at the appearance of a male of its own species, and in still another when it sees a female. Dr. McCook says 'their rapid and marked change of manner when prey is sighted, the mode of approach, like the action of a cat creeping upon a bird, the peculiar behavior displayed when the final spring is made, are not to be accounted for on any theory other than a keen sense of sight.'" Among many incidents very much alike related by the authors we cite the case in which eight gnats and four small flies were put into a box containing one of the spiders. "They all settled and became quiet. The spider, neglecting several gnats and flies which were close to him, fixed his eyes upon a gnat five inches away, and, approaching it by short jerks from in front, pounced upon it, holding it tightly a moment and then letting it go. One of its legs was broken. It fluttered off to a distance of seven inches. After a moment the spider followed it and caught it again, still paying no attention to several nearer ones. This he repeated six times, letting it go each time. He then began to catch other gnats and flies at distances of from one to four inches. He made in all twenty-five captures, jumping always when about an inch away. His actions were exactly like those of a cat playing with a mouse. It seems remarkable that he could see clearly enough to follow the gnat which he had at first singled out among a number of others which were almost identical in appearance." Experiments on Attidæ at their mating season prove that spiders can see at a considerable distance. A male was put into a box containing a female of the same species. The female was standing motionless twelve inches away, and three inches and a half higher than the male. "He perceived her at once, lifting his head with an alert and excited expression, and went bounding toward her. This he would not have done if he had not recognized her as a spider of his own species. When four inches and a half from her he began the regular display of the species, which consists of a peculiar dance. This he would not have done had he not recognized her sex. A male of this species on the floor of the box caught sight of a motionless female on the glass nine inches away and four inches and a half above him. He raised his body almost vertically, and gazed alternately at her and at a male which was five inches away in another direction. At other times the males recognized the females at eight, nine, and eleven inches, and the females recognized the males at six, seven, nine and a half, and eleven inches." A spider can not recognize its egg sac by sight, because in its natural position it never sees it, and therefore does not know how it looks. Experiments on the color sense of spiders were not conclusive.

British New Guinea.—The colony now called British New Guinea has been formally annexed to the British Empire. The natives, who probably number between 300,000 and 400,000, are described by Sir William Macgregor, administrator, as mostly of a rich, dark bronze color, varying from a brown that might be called black to a yellowish brown. In temper they are cheerful, lively, and full of fun, and are generally very contented; not quarrelsome or violently passionate. Suicide is comparatively rare among them; when it does take place, it is, as a rule, the outcome of affection, one of the strongest and best characteristics of the race. Occasionally a woman would climb a tall cocoanut tree and kill herself by jumping down, because she had become convinced that she could never meet again among men with a husband so good as the one she had lost. This family affection is so strong as to be often an impediment to the employment of men away from their own districts. It is not often that a man cares to remain longer than one year in the constabulary, because he is separated there from his family and friends. The London Missionary Society finds it difficult, for the same reason, to get wives of native teachers to live in strange villages. Yet the strong feeling of affection that the Papuan has for his relatives and neighbors does not prevent him from doing to others what appear terribly cruel things.