Books with author W. Hamilton Gibson

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1896 Excerpt: ... which all seemed to have been killed by the fall, and here are the fragments." I opened the handkerchief in which the nest was brought, and disclosed what appeared to be an irregular lump of mud. One side of it bore a perfect cast of the silk gros-grain fabric--a perfect mould, easily identified as from silk. The broken portion disclosed a smooth cavity with a few spiders, apparently dead, within it, and, with the number of others to be seen in the debris, show ing that the cell had originally contained no less than sixteen spiders, varying in size, but all of the same species. The lump of mud contained two other cells, each of which was similarly packed with the spiders, one of them yielding seventeen individuals. All of them were in the same limp and lifeless condition. But a closer examination of the mass revealed the secret of our queer spider nest. After a moment's search I brought to light in one of the cells a tiny egg, and in the second a small white grub in the act of finishing a meal from the mutilated remains of the spiders. "It is perfectly plain, don't you see," said I, " that this plump larva, and not the spider, is the real lord of the manor, and that all the spider prisoners did the spiders get there? Have they deliberately packed themselves here in this old wasp nest to be eaten up?" "Ah, then, you knew it was a wasp nest, did you?" "Why, of course," she replied. "It didn't occur to me at first, but I have often seen the same sort of mud nests on the beams of my garret; but never heard of the old ones being used by spiders. And.: then the spiders are all dead, and are not like any spiders that I have ever seen; and then there is that little worm and all. I don't understand the thing a bit.&...

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901 Excerpt: ... to all quarters of the globe. They spare no effort to insure success, attracting both pollen-gatherers and nectarseekers, and still, not quite certain but that both these classes may sometime fail them, reserving the power of self-fertilization for such an extremity. Their method, too, of scattering their seed as shown in the dandelion and thistle has aided their march around the world. One cannot help admiring their persistency and delighting in their beauty, despite the farmer's lament. The Mountain Laurel's Embrace Let Us now look at the Heath family. The family of the heath, cranberry, pyrola, Andromeda, and mountain-laurel--how do these blossoms welcome their insect friends? This group is particularly distinguished by the unusual exception in the form of its anthers, which open by pores at their tips, instead of the ordinary side fissures. Two or three forms of these anthers are shown in my row of stamens, page 25. Seen thus in their detached condition, how incomprehensible and grotesque do they appear! And yet, when viewed at home, in their bell-shaped corollas, their hospitable expression and greeting are seen to be quite as expressive and rational as those of other flowers. Take the mountain-laurel, for instance; what a singular exhibition is this which we may observe on any twilight evening in the laurel copse, the dense clusters of pink-white bloom waited upon by soft-winged fluttering moths, and ever and anon celebrating'its cordial spirit by a mimic display of pyrotechnics as the anthers hurl aloft their tiny showers of pollen! Every one is familiar with the curious construction of this flower, with its ten radiating stamens, each with its anther snugly tucked away in a pouch at the rim of its saucer-shaped corolla. Thus they appear in the fres...