MAY. 159 



threads ; that the spider ejects a little jet of glutinous sub- 

 stance, which the wind blows out into a thread ; others again 

 suppose that the spider fastens one end of its thread, and then 

 patiently crawls down, we will suppose from the fence, 

 along the ground, and up the opposite fence, taking care to 

 keep the thread from contact with the surface on which it 

 crawls : and when arrived at its chosen point, " hauls in the 

 slack," as a sailor would say ; that is, tightens the web by 

 pulling it in, and fastens the other end. These and other 

 modes are said to be confirmed by actual observation, and 

 probably they all are correct, different species having different 

 habits ; and even the same species may not always be con- 

 fined to one mode of operation. 



C. The network webs that are extended on bushes, 

 between palings, &c. are beautiful and curious, from the regu- 

 larity and geometrical nicety with which they are construct- 

 ed, the lines radiating from the centre like the spokes of a 

 wheel, and the interstices filled with many concentric circles 

 of the finest threads : and they are particularly beautiful in 

 the early morning, when every thread is thickly studded 

 with little sparkling gems of dew. 



F. They are so slender that one would suppose the 

 slightest touch would break them, but the threads are elastic, 

 and very strong in proportion to their size ; they are suffi- 

 cient to break the flight of small two-winged flies, and to 



detain them in their meshes. Let us turn out of the 



road for a while into these beech woods, where many a 

 flower " wastes its sweetness on the desert air." Here are 

 two species numerous, besides the yellow dog-tooth violet, 

 which is abundant. They are handsome flowers, and are 

 much alike in every respect, except in colour, one being dark 

 red, the other pure white, tinged with pink. Both have 

 a corolla of three petals, three large heart-shaped leaves, a 

 calyx three-parted, a style three-cleft, a seed-vessel three- 



