AERONAUTIC SPIDERS 



Introduction to Entomology), tells us of gossamers ob- 

 served by him early in the morning, spread over stub- 

 bles and fallows so thickly that they seemed "covered 

 with a gauzy carpet, or, rather, overflown by a sea of 

 gauze, presenting, when studded with dewdrops, a most 

 enchanting spectacle." The Rev. Gilbert ^Vliite, whose 

 Natural History of Selborne is still a delightful and in- 

 spiring book, describes a gossamer shower that occurred 

 in England, September 21, 1714. At daybreak the 

 stubble and clover grounds were matted with a thick 

 coat of cobwebs, in the meshes of which a heavy dew 

 hung so plentifully that the whole face of the country 

 seemed covered with fishing sea-nets drawn one above 

 the other. The dogs were so blinded by this deposit 

 that they could not hunt, but lay down and scraped the 

 webs from their faces. As the morning advanced, the 

 sun grew warm and the day became cloudless and 

 serene. 



About nine o'clock an unusual appearance demand- 

 ed attention. A shower of cobwebs fell from a great 

 height and continued mitil evening. These webs were 

 not single, filmy threads, but flakes or shreds, some of 

 which were nearly an inch wide and six inches long. 

 The velocity of their fall showed that they were much 

 heavier than the atmosphere. On every side the ob- 

 server noted a continuous succession of fresh flakes 

 falling into sight from the upper air, and twinkling like 

 stars as they turned their white sides towards the sun. 

 This shower extended over at least eight miles of terri- 

 tory. One of Mr. Wliite's neighbors met it while riding 

 abroad, and rode to a near-by hill tln-ee hmidi'ed feet 

 high in order to escape it. When he reached this lofty 

 spot he was astonished to find the gossamers as far above 



193 



