xiii ARACHNIDA 191 



voyages of considerable length may be made; and when it 

 has had enough "ballooning," it is said that the spider can 

 bring its travels to an end, by hauling in the thread with 

 its legs and rolling it into a ball, so that it finally drops to 

 earth from its own weight combined with that of the now 

 tightly rolled up silk. It seems only possible for it to 

 produce such free threads of silk when there are currents of 

 air to draw them out. The spiders seen flying in this way 

 in the autumn are of many different species \ perhaps they are 

 most commonly the young of Lycosa species (see p. 194), or of 

 those small Theridiid spiders which live amongst the grass. 

 In watching these spiders starting on their travels we recall 

 how the same sight caused Walt Whitman to write : 



A noiseless, patient spider 



I marked where, on a little promontory, it stood isolated ; 



Mark'd how, to explore the vacant, vast surrounding. 



It launoh'd forth filament, tilament, filament out of itself ; 



Ever unreeling them — ever tirelessly speeding them. 



And you, my soul, where you stand 



Surrounded, surrounded, in measureless oceans of space, 



Carelessly musing, venturing, throwing— seeking the spheres to connect 



them ; 

 Till the bridge you need will be form'd — till the ductile anchor hold ; 

 Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, my soul. 



Other True Spiders. 



There are many other spiders, differing somewhat in details 

 of structure, and greatly in habits, but only a few can be 

 mentioned here. It is convenient to group them provisionally 

 according to their habits and the kind of snares they weave. 

 Yj,g In such a classification, the Cross Spider, already 

 Orb-weavers described, would be inchided in a group of " Orb- 

 (Epeiridae). weavers" (Epeiridae), because of the circular or 

 wheel-like web it spins. This is a very large group con- 

 taining many British forms. 

 The Line- Most of our British spiders are included in 



weavers the group of the Line-weavers (Tlieridiidae). 

 (Theridiidae). ^he web they make is a great contrast to that of 

 the orb-weavers, for in it very little art is displayed — it often 

 consists merely of an irregular network of threads. In some 



