ARANEID.E — TRUE SPIDERS. 347 



ment, and the Spider had evidently gained the victory, and 

 was slowly and steadily tugging him up. lie had ru^t ont-e 

 quitted his hold during the (piarter to half an hour that we 

 had watched them. Jle held, with his head toward tlie 

 fish's tail, and pulled him up at an angle of forty-five de- 

 grees by stepi)ing backward Tiie Spider was three- 

 fourths of an inch long, and weighed fourteen grains; the 

 fish was three and one-fourth inches long, and weighed 

 sixty-six grains."^ 



The following interesting account of the rarely-witnessed 

 phenomenon of 'a shower of webs of the Gossamer-spider, 

 Aranea ohtextrix, is given us by Mr. White: "On the 

 21st of September, 1741, being intent on field diversions, I 

 rose," says this gentleman, "before daybreak; when I came 

 into the enclosures, I found the stubbles and clover grounds 

 matted all over with a thick coat of cobweb, in the meshes 

 of which a copious and heavy dew hung so plentifully, that 

 the whole face of the country seemed, as it were, covered 

 with two or three setting-nets, drawn one over another. 

 When the dogs attempted to hunt, their eyes were so 

 blinded and hood-winked that they could not proceed, but 

 were obliged to lie down and scrape the incumbrances from 

 their faces with their fore-feet As the morning ad- 

 vanced, the sun became bright and warm, and the day turned 

 out one of the most lovely ones which no season but the 

 autumn produces ; cloudless, calm, serene, and worthy of 

 the south of France itself. 



"About nine an appearance very unusual began to demand 

 our attention, a shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated 

 regions, and continuing, without any interru})tion. till the 

 close of the day. These webs v/ere not single filmy tiireads, 

 floating in the air in all directions, but perfect flakes of rags ; 

 some near an inch broad, and five or six long. On every 

 side, as the observer turned his eyes, might he behold a 

 continual succession of fresh flakes falling into his sight, 

 and twinkling like stars. "^ 



The Times of October 9th, 1826, records another shower 

 of gossamer as follows : " On Sunday, Oct. 1st, 1826, a phe- 

 nomenon of rare occurrence in the neighborhood of Liver- 

 pool was observed in that vicinage, and for many miles dis- 



1 Annual of Sci. Disc, 1862, p. 335. 



2 Nat. Hist, of Selborne, p. 285. 



