in the fields) in a coal-mine in the county of
Durham. Although a gentleman eminent for
his knowledge of spiders pronounced the fabric
sent to him to be genuine cobweb, there prevailed
a general opinion that the fabric is the mycelium
of a fungus. The webs were for a long time,
indeed, mistaken for the filaments of fungi, and
this is a fact to be borne in mind when we are
trying to ascertain their true nature. Mr.
Morison, of Pelton Colliery, Chester-le-Street, the
gentleman who brought these spiders and their
webs into notice, has been obliging enough to
send me his latest observations upon them. The
length of the spiders is one-ninth of an inch;
and some of their webs have been more than five
feet in height, and more than thirty feet long.
All the webs found have been begrimed with
coal-dust, black and opaque. They are found in
old workings, " waste," or abandoned galleries.
In February, 1860, Mr. Morison descended into
the pit, and, accompanied by two " wastemen,"
soon found that the webs, however interesting
to the naturalist, are very disagreeable impediments
to any one passing through them. The
wastemen assured him they were not fungi, but
cobwebs, and the light of lamps being turned
suddenly on them, Mr. Morison detected scores
of small spiders, some of which were busy spinning,
whilst most of them were dropping down
to the ground, or scampering off in all directions.
They are eminently gregarious, assembling in
large numbers either to weave new webs, or to
repair the rents of old ones. Total darkness,
continued through successive generations, had
not lessened the sensibility of their retina to
light, for on the approach of lamps they always
scampered off. The temperature in the " waste"
stands considerably higher than on the surface;
they are, therefore, in warmer, snugger, and less
troubled quarters in the mine than upon the
fields. They are supposed to have been brought
down originally in the fodder of the seventy-five
horses and ponies in the mine, and their chief
food appears to be the flies brought down daily
in the fresh fodder. Strangely enough, although
the scales of moths have been found in the webs,
no moths have ever been caught in the mine.
Mr. Morison is not of opinion, or rather he
hesitates to affirm, that these webs are produced by
design and co-operation, supposing, rather, that
they are produced by great multitudes of spiders
indulging their instinct, through successive
generations, whilst confined in darkness to the same
limited spot. But what the exact processes are
in this case, remains to be ascertained. The
Pelton Colliery spiders attacked each other
whenever they met; but the Brighton spiders were
always friendly and peaceable.

Such are the facts and observations which relate
to the sociability of spiders. Sociability is a trait
denoting a high position in the scale of being.
That the spiders I saw weaving the marvellous
dome over the lump of ciay were co-operating
under command, I can no more doubt than that
a crew of sailors co-operate to reef a sail.
Comparative psychology is as much a science as
comparative anatomy or physiology, and the co-
operation of the factory spiders is a contribution
to comparative psychology. The fact as yet
rests upon the observations made in Brighton
and in the Pelton Colliery; but these latter are
doubtful; for, in a letter to me, Mr. D. P.
Morison, says: " I have also since entertained
the idea that the so-called webs may merely be
an aggregation of fibres produced by the spider
running backwards and forwards during the
whole of its existence, over a circuit necessarily
contracted, and which has no disturbing influences
whatever, such as wind, sun, or rain to destroy
or disconnect it. This seems to be proved
by the fact of the spiders, whenever they meet,
invariably endeavouring to prey upon each other,
and the size and irregularity of the webs preclude
the theory of a social web, built by the united
efforts of thousands, for the purpose of entrapping
their mutual prey." But the testimony in
reference to the social spinning at Brighton is not
a doubtful opinion. It rests upon testimony
sufficient to establish any fact in a court of law.
In reference to it, the following letters have been
addressed to the secretary of the Brighton and
Sussex Natural History Society. " It has been
suggested to me," says Mr. J. J. Sewell, " that it
would be desirable to state in writing the parole
testimony I bore to the statements made by Mr.
Robertson to the Natural History Society at
their last monthly meeting, respecting the
marvellous tent or awning made by spiders at his
residence. In conformity with this I will briefly
state what I there saw. In a flower-pot was
a lump of clay, surmounting it—that is the
rim of it—some four or five inches; from the
clay projected grass roots and bits of furze;
these formed points of attachment for the web,
which rose up from the rim of the flower-
pot all round, forming a complete tent or awning.
This fabric was as perfect a cupola as the skull-
cap of the human head, and very symmetrical;
the texture was so fine that it was only at certain
angles that the eye could perceive it, but by
turning the flower-pot in different directions, I
quite satisfied myself that the structure was
entire and unbroken; that there were clearly
discernible lines or threads which passed from the
base to the top, with others crossing them at
variable distances; the spaces between these
lines were filled up with an exceedingly thin
gossamer-like web, thus forming the completion
of the dome. I have placed some of these cross
threads under the microscope, and they present
a similar appearance to those of the common
house-spider, both differing as to the distinctive
character of the silk fibre from that of the silkworm,
although it is usual for naturalists to
speak of the spider's web as composed of silk."
Mr. Edward Wood " confirms all that is stated
in Mr. Sewell's letter, and more than that having
seen the tent in question some days, earlier
than Mr. Sewell, begs to state that he saw
the spiders running to and fro both inside and