320 PLYING REPTILES, FISHES, AND MOLLUSCS. 



The end of summer or the beginning of autumn 

 is the best time for witnessing this remarkable pheno- 

 menon. Sometimes the Gossamer threads are so 

 numerous that a number of them become attached to 

 each other, and form large, light, flake-like masses. 

 In the early morning, before the dew is off the grass, 

 the fields present a wonderfully beautiful appearance, 

 the ground being covered, as far as the eye can see, 

 with snowy- white flakes, every line of which is studded 

 with multitudinous dewdrops glittering in the sun- 

 beams like rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. 



This is one of the many beauties of nature that is 

 lost by those who do not rise early, and I am quite 

 sure that no one who has tasted the pleasures of a 

 country walk just after sunrise will be likely again to 

 waste the sweet morning hours in bed. 



The reader will probably have noticed that I have 

 mentioned Flying Spiders in the plural, and not the 

 singular number. The reason is, that the term Gos- 

 samer Spider is only a general one, which is applicable 

 to a considerable number of species, mostly while the 

 creature is still young and light. The mode in which 

 the ascent is made is as follows : 



The little Spider climbs a branch or plant, or even 

 a large stone, and raising its abdomen upwards, pro- 

 ceeds to emit from its spinnerets a fine thread. This 

 streams upwards in the air, which radiates from the 

 heated ground, and when the spider feels the upward 

 pull, it loosens the hold of its feet, and sails away into 

 the air, than which it and its thread parachute are a 

 trifle lighter. 



As to the mode of its descent, I imagine that to be 



