THE MAKERS OF GOSSAMER 



clutches the railing. It is necessary, for he has prob- 

 ably, by this time, several yards of ribbon to contend 

 with, and the pulling force must be considerable. 

 There he goes ! He has estimated to a nicety the pull 

 of the thread and away he sails over the meadow. His 

 direction is controlled by the prevailing breeze, and 

 by the rising air-currents ; but he is not altogether at 

 the mercy of these fickle agencies, for he is able, by 

 lengthening or drawing in his thread, to rise or to 

 descend. But whether he shall travel north, south, 

 east or west he has no choice whatever. 



We may premise that his voyage will end safely, 

 for in all probability he will be brought to a standstill by 

 yonder row of stately elms. But it is not always so. 

 If you are fortunate enough to be on the cliffs in the late 

 autumn, with a very gentle land-breeze blowing, you 

 will be able to observe large numbers of minute 

 spiders sailing out to sea. We are often told that man 

 has been forestalled in many of his mechanical contriv- 

 ances by spiders ; but few may be aware that, long 

 before man essayed in one curious way or another to 

 cross the channel, these tiny creatures had perished in 

 millions, unconsciously attempting the same feat. 



You thought spiders were more intelligent ? I 

 remember, a few years ago, in the early autumn, notic- 

 ing an orb-spinning spider perched upon a knapweed 

 head on the very brink of the cliff at Dover. Closer 



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