The Climbing-Instinct 151 



Collected nightly into a globular troop and 

 sheltered under a fresh tent, for three or four 

 days, each morning, before the sun grows too 

 hot, my little emigrants thus raise themselves, 

 stage by stage, on both bamboos, until they 

 reach the summit, at fifteen feet above the 

 ground. The climb comes to an end for lack 

 of foothold. 



Under normal conditions, the ascent would 

 be shorter. The young Spiders have at their 

 disposal the bushes, the brushwood, providing 

 supports on every side for the threads wafted 

 hither and thither by the eddying air-currents. 

 With these rope-bridges flung across space, 

 the dispersal presents no difficulties. Each 

 emigrant leaves at his own good time and travels 

 as suits him best. 



My devices have changed these conditions 

 somewhat. My two bristUng poles stand at a 

 distance from the surrounding shrubs, especi- 

 ally the one which I planted in the middle of 

 the yard. Bridges are out of the question, for 

 the threads flung into the air are not long 

 enough. And so the acrobats, eager to get 

 away, keep on climbing, never come down 



