MY PET SCORPION. 607 



daylight except by accident or mistake. I was also under the im- 

 pression that they were becoming rather rare, as it was more than 

 a year since I had seen one. Still, it was with the most abundant 

 confidence, to say nothing of the more prosaic requisites of a stout 

 pair of gloves, a paper bag, and a hoe, that I started out one after- 

 noon to find my Thelyphonus. I directed my course to the nearest 

 wood, not for a moment doubting that a few hours' work would 

 bring to light the object of my search. I labored faithfully until 

 dark, overturning rotten logs, sticks, bark, old rails, and other field 

 and woodland debris under which my " grampus " would be likely 

 to be hiding, but the search was altogether fruitless. 



I then concluded to try a plan which I have usually found quite 

 successful. I told some of the bright boys in town what I wanted, 

 and offered them a liberal price for every live " grampus " they 

 would bring, cautioning them that their bite was said to be poisonous, 

 and at the same time instructing them exactly how to catch and 

 handle them. This scheme was also a failure. I then asked several 

 friends who are interested in natural history to aid me in the search. 

 One gentleman, who is a surveyor, and who in the pursuit of his pro- 

 fession passes much of his time in the woods, entered with special 

 interest into my quest. These plans were all equally barren of 

 results. 



One day, after I had practically given up the search, I was hoe- 

 ing among the sprouts at the base of an old orange tree that had 

 fallen a victim to the " big freeze " when, under a pile of chips at 

 the base of the old stump, I suddenly unearthed my long-looked-for 

 Thelyphonus. It was a fine, full-grown specimen, decidedly resent- 

 ful at this sudden intrusion upon its privacy, and if a formidable pair 

 of expanded claws, brandishing tail, and a generally vicious look 

 meant anything, it was a customer that a prudent man would not 

 care to pick up with bare hands. With the aid of a wide-mouthed 

 preserving jar and a stick it was, however, soon secured, and in a 

 short time transferred to the cage that had been so long waiting for 

 its occupant. 



A few words may not be amiss concerning the great family of 

 which my little captive is not the least interesting member. The 

 Thelyphonidce belong to the great spider family, Arachnida, which 

 includes not only the true spiders, but also the mites (Acarids), the 

 ticks (Ixodes), the Tartarides, Phrynides, Phalangides, and other 

 more or less related and mostly tropical groups. The whole subclass 

 has certain pretty well-defined characteristics. They are almost 

 without exception carnivorous (insectivorous). They are seldom 

 subject to metamorphosis. The legs are usually eight in number. 

 The eyes are always situated on the cephalo-thorax (head and breast 



