THE SPIDER. $11

genuity than is to be found in the web of the house spider.
When desirous of forming a net, the Zpeira fixes one end
of her thread to the place where she is seated, and then
elevating her spinnerets, throws from them a continued jet
of thread, which floats onward until it reaches some adjoin-
ing branch, to which, by its glutinous nature, it adheres.
By occasionally feeling the tightness of the thread, the spider
knows when it has fastened, and she walks backwards and
forwards over it, each time strengthening it by an additional
strand. In this way she lays several suspension chains,
each properly stayed and tightened, and then proceeds to
weave the net-work*;” forming those circular threads
which give to the net so geometrical an appearance.

The net of the Labyrinthic Spider (Angela labyrinthica)
is also very worthy of examination ; it is the largest con-
struction of any European species, and may be seen in pro-
fusion towards autumn, forming a broad sheet, spread on
hedges and furze. Mr. Rennie says that “the middle of
this sheet, which is of a close texture, is swung, like a
sailor’s hammock, by silken ropes extended all round to the
higher branches, but the whole curves upwards and back-
wards, sloping down to a long funnel-shaped gallery, which

* Consteble’s Miscellany.