HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



251 



used to be represented as reclining on its flowers, 

 and also holding them in his hauds. 



What a world of legendary lore is opened up by 

 the common name Briar ! It was given to the 

 plant on account of its many thorns after the giant 

 Briareus, who is related to have possessed one 

 hundred hands and fifty heads. His name is derived 

 from briaros, strong. There is a reference to 

 him in Homer's " Iliad," book i., v. 403. Achilles, 

 addressing Thetis, says :— 



"But thou, O goddess, bavins' come, didst free him indeed 

 from his chains, having quickly summoned to lofty Olympus 

 the hundred-handed one, whom the gods called Briareus, 



but all men ^-Egeon Him the blessed gods 



even dreaded, nor did they bind Jove." 



Virgil also (" iEneid," book vi.) mentions this 

 formidable giant in his description of the descent of 

 JEneas into the Shades. Amongst others whom 

 ./Eneas sees there is Briareus. Virgil mentions him 

 again in book x. ; Hesiod also mentions him, and 

 speaks of him as the son of Uranus and Gea ; whilst 

 Homer evidently considered Neptune to be his 

 father. However, culling from each, we learn that 

 he was a giant, the son of Uranus or Neptune, and 

 Gea, possessing one hundred hands and fifty heads ; 

 that by the gods he was called Briareus, and by 

 men iEgeon, and that sitting next to Jove— so 

 terrible was his appearance — he completely 

 frightened Juno, Neptune, and Minerva, and pre- 

 vented them from further plotting against Jupiter. 

 Some say that after the war of the giants against 

 the gods, he was thrown under Mount Etna. But 

 this is commonly related of Typhosus, whose efforts 

 to rise were said to occasion the eruptions of Mount 

 Etna. From this account it can hardly bs said that 

 Briareus was a Sweet-briar. Another derivation, 

 given by Dr. Prior, is not quite so mythical. The 

 name Briar, is derived, he says, from the Anglo- 

 Saxon "braer," Erench bruyere, called in Normandy 

 " brire," from the waste land on which it usually 

 grows. 



Circea lidetiana, one of the order Onagracese, 

 recalls to our minds the enchantress Circe, the 

 recital of whose enchantments to us when we were 

 children — to quote the words of Shakespeare— used 

 to— 



" Harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood ; 

 Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres 

 Thy knotted and combined locks to part, 

 And each particular hair to stand on end, 

 Like quiUs upon the fretful porcupine." 



" Hamlet," Act i., Scene 5. 



The name Circea was by a mistake transferred 

 from the mandrake, which was called Circea or 

 Circe, because Circe is said to have used it as a 

 Tempting Powder, or because she bewitched the 

 companions of Ulysses with it. Amongst the Com- 

 posite we find in the Warren Achillea millefolium, 

 named after the Greek hero Achilles, whom we 

 have already mentioned. 



We come next to the order Iridaceae, named 

 after Iris, the ; rainbow, ..because of the beautiful 

 colouring of the flowers. Iris was messenger of 

 the gods, and especially of Juno. She is the 

 same as the rainbow, and is represented, with all 

 the different colours of the rainbow, sitting behind 

 Juno, ready to carry out her commands. 



There are many more plants in the Warren upon 

 the Etymology of the Names of which I have not 

 touched. Shakespeare makes Juliet ask the ques- 

 tion, " What's in a name ? " My endeavour has been 

 to show that there is a great deal in the names of 

 flowers. 



SPIDERS AND THEIR WEBS. 



I AM induced by the invitation of the contributor 

 of the paper on " Spiders' Webs and Spin- 

 nerets" that appeared in the September (1875) num- 

 ber of Science-Gossip, to other observers to pursue 

 the subject, to submit a few facts, culled from per- 

 sonal observation, of the habits of these generally 

 despised, but interesting little creatures. 



Having for many years bestowed some attention 

 upon them, I have had opportunities of seeing 

 peculiarities exhibited that I have not found men- 

 tioned in any work on spiders that has come under 

 my notice ; and perhaps by submitting a few facts, 

 through the medium of your columns, to the notice 

 of your readers, it may be ascertained if the pecu- 

 liarities to which I propose to refer have been seen 

 and noted by other observers. 



Many years ago I saw a small spider of the 

 genus Linyphia or Nereine drop upon the web of 

 one of the Epeira, and immediately the latter came 

 out of its retreat, rushed along its line of communi- 

 cation to the centre of the web, and, after trying all 

 round to find the whereabouts of the intruder, hur- 

 ried down the radius to capture it. But it came too 

 incautiously, for as it attempted to seize the small 

 spider, the latter, with a sudden spring seized upon 

 one of the front legs of the Epeira, sank its fangs 

 into it, and held on like a bull-dog. 



Erom this moment the Epeira, though much 

 larger, made no attempt to retaliate upon its puny 

 assailant, but commence to pull with all its force 

 to liberate the imprisoned limb. This was ac- 

 complished in a few seconds, when it hurried to its 

 corner, and began, apparently with great anxiety, to 

 work at the wounded limb with its palpi, falces, or 

 labise (its movements were too rapid to say which). 

 At first I had the impression that it was trying to 

 suck the poison from the wound ; but, judge of my 

 surprise when I saw it pull the poisoned limb out 

 of its socket and cast it away. On picking up the 

 \eg, 1 could see a small globule of poison glistening 

 on the place where the small spider had fastened. 



The voluntary amputative power manifested by 



