1 56 The Life of the Spider 



dandelion, surmounted by a tuft of feathers, fly 

 from their dry receptacle and waft gently in the 

 air. 



Next to the tuft, the wing is the most satis- 

 factory contrivance for dissemination by wind. 

 Thanks to their membranous edge, which gives 

 them the appearance of thin scales, the seeds 

 of the yellow wall-fiower reach high cornices of 

 buildings, clefts of inaccessible rocks, crannies in 

 old walls, and sprout in the remnant of mould 

 bequeathed by the mosses that were there before 

 them. 



The samaras, or keys, of the elm, formed of 

 a broad, light fan with the seed cased in its 

 centre ; those of the maple, joined in pairs and 

 resembling the unfurled wings of a bird ; those 

 of the ash, carved like the blade of an oar, 

 perform the most distant journeys when driven 

 before the storm. 



Like the plant, the insect also sometimes 

 possesses travelling-apparatus, means of dis- 

 semination that allow large families to disperse 

 quickly over the country, so that each member 

 may have his place in the sun without injur- 

 ing his neighbour ; and these apparatus, these 



