THE MASTERY OF THE AIR 267 
No book nor naturalist can ever come within 
sight of the end of the study of the haunts of 
life, but as we must close these studies now, we 
wish to finish with a picture which may serve 
as an emblem of the quality of life which 
seems to us so characteristic. Our picture is that 
of the Gossamer Spider, a terrestrial creature 
which makes aerial journeys without wings. 
At many seasons of the year, but in the 
autumn especially, many small spiders of 
various kinds mount on to gateposts and the 
rails of wooden bridges and tall plants like 
ragwort. They stand with their head to the 
wind, and allow threads of silk—four is a 
common number—to float out from the spin- 
nerets at the hind end of the body. When 
these are long enough the wind grips them, 
and the spider lets go, usually turning upside 
down. On the wings of the wind, supported 
by the silken parachutes, the spiders are borne 
from one parish to another, from a crowded 
place it may be to a free place, from a hungry 
land it may be to a land of plenty. Sometimes 
they are borne in safety over a sheet of water, 
though the tips of their toes may touch the 
surface film. If the wind should rise, the 
ballooning spider can wind in its threads, 
