THE GARDEN SPIDER. 319 



These spiders have, moreover, a most singular plan of strength- 

 ening their web when the wind is more than ordinarily violent. 

 If they find that the wind stretches their nets to a dangerous ex- 

 tent, they hang pieces of wood, or stone, or other substances to 

 the web, so as to obtain the needful steadiness. I have seen a 

 piece of wood which had been thus used by a Garden Spider, and 

 which was some two inches in length, and thicker than an ordi- 

 nary drawing-pencil. The spider hauled it to a height of nearly 

 five feet ; and when by some accident the suspending thread was 

 broken, the little creature immediately lowered itself to the 

 ground, attached a fresh thread, ascended again to the web, and 

 hauled the piece of wood after it. 



It found this balance-weight at some distance from the web, 

 and certainly must have dragged it for a distance of five feet 

 along the ground before reaching the spot below the web. There 

 were eight or ten similar webs in the same veranda, but only in 

 the single instance was the net steadied by a weight. 



The structure of the beautiful web is very remarkable. 



It is nearly circular, and is composed of a number of straight 

 lines, radiating from a common centre, and having a spiral line 

 wound regularly upon them. Now the structure of the radiating 

 and the spiral lines is quite distinct, as may be seen by applying 

 a microscope of moderate power. The radiating lines are smooth 

 and not very elastic, whereas the spiral line is thickly studded 

 with minute knobs, and is elastic to a wonderful degree, remind- 

 ing the observer of a thread of India-rubber. So elastic, indeed, 

 is this line, that many observers have thought that the spider has 

 the power of retracting them within the spinnerets, inasmuch as 

 she often will draw a thread out to a considerable length, and 

 then, when she approaches the point to which it will be attached, 

 it seems to re-enter the spinneret until it is shortened to the re- 

 quired length. This, however, is only an optical delusion, and 

 caused by the great elasticity of the thread, which can accommo- 

 date itself to the space which it is required to cross. 



It is to the little projections that the efficacy of the net is due, 

 for they are composed of a thick, adhesive, and viscid substance, 

 and serve to arrest the wings and legs of the insects that happen 

 to touch the net. In his splendid work on the British Spiders, 

 Mr. Blackwell has the following remarks upon the structure of 

 the threads: "As the radii are unadhesive, and possess only a 

 moderate share of elasticity, they must consist of a different mate- 



