26 SPIDERS [CH. 



lavender or heliotrope are free from this defect. 

 Take a clean glass rod and present it to the spider 

 as before, and no notice is taken. Now dip it in oil 

 of lavender, allow it to dry, and present it again. 

 Most spiders respond to such a test, Epeirids gener- 

 ally raising the abdomen, and rubbing one or other 

 of the legs against the jaws, while jumping spiders 

 generally raise the head and back away from the rod. 

 Different essences produce different effects, but there 

 is seldom any doubt that the creature is aware of 

 their presence ; it is not deficient in the sense of 

 smell, but its localisation has hitherto baffled research. 

 The sense of taste does not seem to have been 

 made the subject of any definite experiments among 

 spiders, though such experiments might well lead to 

 interesting conclusions, and the reader might do worse 

 than undertake some on his own account. It would 

 be easy, for instance, to supply a garden-spider with 

 various insects which are generally rejected by other 

 insectivorous animals, and to note its behaviour. It 

 might refuse to have anything to do with them, or it 

 might sample them and turn away in disgust. In the 

 first case the explanation might be that it was warned 

 of their probably evil taste by their coloration or 

 smell, but in any case here is an interesting little 

 field for research. It is the general belief among 

 arachnologists that the sense of taste is well de- 

 veloped among spiders, and it is highly improbable 



