THE MASTERY OF THE AIR 267 



No book nor naturalist can ever come within 

 sight of the end of the study of the haunts of 

 life, but as we must close these studies now, we 

 wish to finish with a picture which may serve 

 as an emblem of the quality of life which 

 seems to us so characteristic. Our picture is that 

 of the Gossamer Spider, a terrestrial creature 

 which makes aerial journeys without wings. 



At many seasons of the year, but in the 

 autumn especially, many small spiders of 

 various kinds mount on to gateposts and the 

 rails of wooden bridges and tall plants like 

 ragwort. They stand with their head to the 

 wind, and allow threads of silk four is a 

 common number to float out from the spin- 

 nerets at the hind end of the body. When 

 these are long enough the wind grips them, 

 and the spider lets go, usually turning upside 

 down. On the wings of the wind, supported 

 by the silken parachutes, the spiders are borne 

 from one parish to another, from a crowded 

 place it may be to a free place, from a hungry 

 land it may be to a land of plenty. Sometimes 

 they are borne in safety over a sheet of water, 

 though the tips of their toes may touch the 

 surface film. If the wind should rise, the 

 ballooning spider can wind in its threads, 



