APPENDIX 



THE GEOMETRY OF THE EPEIRA'S WEB 



T FIND myself confronted with a subject 

 ■*■ which is not only hi^ily interesting, but 

 somewhat difficult: not that the subject is 

 obscure; but it presupposes in the reader a 

 certain knowledge of geometry: a strong 

 meat too often n^lected. I am not ad- 

 dressing geometricians, who are generally 

 indifEerent to questions of instinct, nor entomcK 

 Ic^cal collectors, who, as sudi, take no 

 interest in mathematical theorems; I write for 

 any one with sufficient intelligence to enjoy 

 the lessons whidi the insect teaches. 



What am I to do? To suppress tlus 

 chapter were to leave out the most remarkable 

 instance of Spider industry; to treat it as it 

 should be treated, that is to say, wiA the 

 whole armoury of scientific formulae, would be 

 out of place in these modest pages. Let us 

 take a middle course, avoiding both abstruse 

 trudis and complete ignorance. 



Let us direct our attention to the nets of 

 3^ 



