34 The Structure and Habits of Spiders. 



cases of their biting the human skin are very 

 rare ; and the stories of death, insanity, and 

 lameness from spider-bites, are probably all 

 untrue. 



Many experiments have been tried to test 

 the effect of the bites of spiders on animals. 

 Doleschall shut up small birds with Mygale 

 Javanica and Mygale Sumatrcnsis, both large 

 and strong spiders ; and the birds died in a few 

 seconds after being bitten. One of the spiders 

 was left for ten days without food, and then 

 made to bite another bird, which was injured, 

 but in six hours recovered. The same author 

 was bitten in the finger by a jumping spider. 

 The pain was severe for a few minutes, and 

 was followed by lameness of the finger, and 

 gradually of the hand and arm, which soon 

 went away entirely. 



Bertkau allowed spiders to bite his hand. 

 On the ends of the finders the skin was too 

 thick ; but between the fingers they easily 

 pricked it. The bite swelled and smarted for 

 a quarter of an hour, and then itched for some 

 time, and for a day after itched whenever 

 rubbed, as mosquito-bites will. He also experi- 



