There are other spiders which become evident 

 only at the approach of winter. It is something 

 to the credit of these small spiders that, being 

 without wings, they should still aspire to fly; 

 whereas the ants, born with wings, are in haste to 

 tear them off. The past year they were so in evi- 

 dence on the 1 1 th of November that I shall 

 henceforth associate that day with the flight of the 

 Erigone. The weather was cool, but with a sug- 

 gestion of Indian summer in the air. I first no- 

 ticed the spiders on top of a hill, for the bare 

 twigs of sumacs were streaming with gossamer 

 threads which shone like silver. From time to 

 time little spiders descended from the upper regions 

 and ran about over my coat. One, which was 

 spinning threads on my sleeve, finally ran out upon 

 my hand and, elevating its spinnerets, began paying 

 out a line, which I could see as I held it against 

 the sun. When this had reached a length of 

 several feet the little spider was whisked off by 

 the breeze and carried away. 



Toward sunset a delicate network of gossamer 



threads covered the open pastures like a silver 



mesh in which the earth lay captive. These 



minute spiders have a way at this ^time of allowing 



88 



