BREATHING AGAINST THE WIND. 195 



webs remain for a considerable time after, and if the 

 frosts are constant, they may be observed for a great 

 part of the season, not only gemmed with the little 

 pearl drops of ice, but absolutely bristled with hoar 

 frost. The quantity of these webs in gardens and 

 fields is immense ; and it would be a curious inquiry 

 to ascertain what purposes the wrecks serve in the 

 economy of nature, as it is part of the economy of 

 nature that no portion even of the refuse of her 

 works is lost. The most durable of those webs is 

 that of the great garden spider. 



There is one little matter connected with the 

 formation of dew which is worthy of being known, 

 because it is, in so far, conducive to the preserva- 

 tion of health. Every one must know that in ordi- 

 nary states of the atmosphere wind very much pro- 

 motes evaporation; and many must have felt the 

 effects of sitting near an open window, or otherwise 

 in a " draught" or current of air : and that those 

 currents are most injurious when they act partially 

 on the body. The reason is, that the current evap- 

 orates moisture from, and causes to shrink, that part 

 of the body against which it sets, so that the circu- 

 lation in the capillary vessels which join the arteries 

 to the veins, and also in the small lymphatics, is 

 more impeded there than in the rest of the body. 

 That unnatural resistance, of course, causes an un- 

 natural action, and stiff-necks and other local rheu- 

 matic affections are the consequence. It is matter 

 of common observation, too, that the danger is 

 greatest when one sits with one's back to the 

 draught, and that it is least when the face is turned 

 to it. The fact is, that the draught produces little 

 bad effect, if any at all, if it blow only on the face ; 

 and one can bear to look a whole day out at a win- 

 dow, the draught at which would produce a stiff- 

 neck, or even a cold, if the back were exposed to it 

 for an hour. Now the back of the head and the 

 neck have no means of protection against the effects 



