THE ARACHNIDA. 303 



the rest, collected into a packet, and cast off. Mr. Ren- 

 me, the author of a very interesting book on insect arch- 

 itecture, describes a process of this kind which he ob- 

 served on board of a steam-boat. It was a geometric 

 Spider, that is, one that forms its web of regular circular 

 lines. The web or net was covered with flakes of soot. 

 " Some of the lines," he says, " she dexterously strippel 

 of the flakes of soot adhering to them ; but in the greater 

 number, finding that she could not get them sufficiently 

 clean, she broke them quite off, bundled them up, and 

 tossed them over. We counted five of these packets of 

 rubbish which she thus threw away, though there must 

 have been many more, as it was some time before we 

 discovered the manoeuvre, the packets being so small as 

 not to be readily perceived, except when placed between 

 the eye and the light. When she had cleared off all the 

 sooted lines, she began to replace them in the usual 

 way." 



515. Many observations have been made, and experi- 

 ments tried, to determine how Spiders transport them- 

 selves from tree to tree, across brooks, or even sometimes 

 through the air, without any visible starting-point. The 

 subject is not entirely cleared up, but it is well ascer- 

 tained that they spin out the thread, letting the wind 

 take it, trying it occasionally with the feet to decide 

 whether the farther end has attached itself to any object. 

 So soon as the Spider finds by pulling on it that it is 

 fastened, it runs along upon it, strengthening its cable 

 by spinning another as it goes. Spiders have not, as 

 some have supposed, the power of projecting their lines 

 in opposition to the moving air, but they uniformly put 

 their bodies in such position that the line may go with 

 the air, that is with the head toward the direction from 

 which the breeze comes. They watch the wind as much 

 as the sailor does. The little gossamer Spiders let their 

 lines, like balloons, carry them off into the air, breaking 

 loose from the objects on which they stand when they 

 20 



