The Life of the Spider 



well as a Cerceris 1 could have done. Why 

 should I not to-day imitate that expert 

 butcher, the Tarantula? With the point of a 

 fine needle, I inject a tiny drop of ammonia 

 at the base of the skull of a Carpenter-bee or 

 a Grasshopper. The insect succumbs then and 

 there, without any other movement than wild 

 convulsions. When attacked by the acrid 

 fluid, the cervical ganglia cease to do their 

 work; and death ensues. Nevertheless, this 

 death is not immediate; the throes last for 

 some time. The experiment is not wholly 

 satisfactory as regards suddenness. Why? 

 Because the liquid which I employ, ammonia, 

 cannot be compared, for deadly efficacy, with 

 the Lycosa's poison, a pretty formidable 

 poison, as we shall see. 



I make a Tarantula bite the leg of a 

 young, well-fledged Sparrow, ready to leave 

 the nest. A drop of blood flows; the 

 wounded spot is surrounded by a reddish 

 circle, changing to purple. The bird almost 

 immediately loses the use of its leg, which 

 drags, with the toes doubled in ; it hops upon 

 the other. Apart from this, the patient does 

 not seem to trouble much about his hurt; his 



'A species of Digger-wasp. — Translator's Note, 



72 



