MISCELLANEOUS. 251 



how they can dart out stiff threads, and sail upon the air 

 by means of a float of fine filaments : that others travel 

 in the skies by means of silken balloons which the spiders 

 inflate and direct. A discharge of cannon at Kidder- 

 minster, some years ago, brought down a shower of aerial 

 spiders, the explosion making the currents of air on which 

 they floated too light to bear their weight. Cobwebs, 

 like balloons, have been seen some funnel-shaped, like 

 parachutes descending from the sky and falling upon the 

 ground, and on examining them, small reddish spiders have 

 been found carefully balanced within. If the weather be 

 likely to be stormy, short terminating threads are used ; 

 if rain is approaching, spiders remain inactive ; if they 

 continue working during rain, fair weather may be 

 expected. Every twenty-four hours alterations may be 

 observed being made in spiders' webs : if these alterations 

 be observed between six and seven in the evening, they 

 indicate a clear and pleasant night. One species of gos- 

 samer is an [excellent rope-dancer, seemingly delighted 

 with darting its threads, ascending and descending in the 

 air, balancing itself by closing its legs together, and pro- 

 moting and directing its course as if nature had furnished 

 it with wings or oars. Did Blondin know of this he would 

 acknowledge himself to be as much outdone as did the 

 inventor of the new torpedo when he saw the rotation 

 of the wheel-like apparatus of the invisible Kotifer. 

 Little space could be afforded here for the subject of 

 Infusoria, but let me very strongly advise you to take 

 up this delightful branch of miscroscopical study. There 

 are said to be seven hundred species, and in one tiny 

 drop of water five hundred millions are reported to 

 have been seen, which, if true, is more than one-third the 

 number of the population of the earth ; and, remember 

 that it is the great German naturalist, Ehrenberg, who 



