SHOWERS OF GOSSAMER 259 



Dr. H. C. M'Cook, who has contributed so much in a 

 charming way to our knowledge of North American spiders, 

 gives a precise account of the spider's position during the 

 ballooning; and it is interesting to notice, as he points 

 out, that here again the gist of the matter was accurately 

 observed by Master Jonathan Edwards. " As the spider- 

 ling vaults upward, by a swift motion the body is turned 

 back downward, the ray of floating threads is separated 

 from the spinnerets and grasped by the feet, which also 

 by deft and rapid movements weave a tiny cradle or net 

 of delicate lines, to which the claws cling. At the same 

 time a second silken filament is ejected and floats out 

 behind, leaving the body of the little voyager balanced 

 on its meshy basket between that and the first filament, 

 which now streams up from the front. Thus our aeronaut's 

 balloon is complete, and she sits or hangs in the middle 

 of it, drifting whether the wind may carry her." 



Dr. M'Cook makes a useful suggestion in regard to the 

 shreds and flakes often seen floating or sinking down 

 without any spiders about them. " In many, perhaps 

 in most, cases a number of feints are made before ascent. 

 A spider will take due position and spin out a thread ; 

 but it fails to mount aloft. Other unsuccessful attempts 

 follow, each producing a filament. These, while waving 

 to and fro in the eddying air, are often tangled together 

 before they are whipped off. Others again are united in 

 the air after release." 



As we have seen, the Natural History of gossamer has 

 been in great measure cleared up. There is still much to do 

 in the way of filling in details, but in a general way we can 

 describe how gossamer is made and how it comes to be as it 

 is. It must be frankly confessed, however, that we do not 

 understand the biological significance of what we are able to 

 describe. It may be that these young spiders are dispersing, 



