(2103) 
A Confirmation of what w^-^ formerly Printed Numb. ^o. 
'ofihefe tra&s,^ about the manner of Spiders frcjel^ing 
their Threds'^ communicated bj Mr, johnW to the 
fnblijher, 
€ concerning the manner cf Spiders projeaing- their 
J threads, I received the following riGCount from Dr. 
Hu fe^ from whom (to do him right) I muft ackno¥7ledge,I 
had the fii ft notice of this particular, which was not losig 
after communicated to ri)e by another Ingenious Friend, 
whofe Letter I formerly fcnt you to be imparted to thelf* 
Society. Nor is it any great worjder^ i hat [nquificive per- 
ibnsj applying tbemfeives to obferve and coDfider the fame 
^iubjeftsjihould make the fame.difcoveries. 
1 have (faith he) feen them (hoot their webbs three yards 
long before they begin to fayh^ and: then they will (asi 
were) fly away incredibly fwifr. Which Phi^nomeno^ doth 
fomewhat puzle me.ieeiog oftentimes the Air duth not move 
a quarter fofaft as they feem to fly. Moftly they projefl: 
their threads finglCp without dividing^ or forking at all to 
be feen in them : Sometimes they will fhoot the thread up- 
wardj and will mount up with it in a ime almoft perpendi- 
eular^ and at other timesj they project it in a line parallel 
to the plain of the Horizon ^ as you may often fee by their 
threads that run from one tFe© to anorher, arid likewife in 
Chambersfrom one wall to anotherv 1 coefefr^ rhis Gb-.' 
fervation atiirft mademe thitak^ that they could fly.becaure 
I couldjnot conceive ^ how a thread could be drawn fo 
parallel to the Horizon between .mo Walls or Trees^ a§a= 
bove-faid^uolefs the Spider flew through the Air in a ftraight 
line* The way of forking fheirthreads is expre^lRd byrthe' 
foUowingFigure. (See-,rtf^.2„F%,ViL) What reafo« ftould be 
given of this dividingj know oot^except that their threads 
being thus winged j become better able to fuftaiu them in 
the Air.. . They 
