250 NATURAL HISTORY. [cH. XV. 



may in some degree be tamed, and lose their natural 

 propensities to attack and eat each other. 



Another instance is mentioned by Latreille, in 

 which a spider appears to have acquired tame habits. 

 A Frenchman of the name of Pelisson, being im- 

 prisoned in the Bastile, was deprived of pen, ink, 

 and paper, and reduced to the society of an ignorant 

 and sullen Basque, whose only occupation was 

 playing on the musette. A spider made its web at 

 the edge of the window which lighted the prison ; 

 and to relieve the dreadful ennui of his situation, 

 Pelisson undertook to tame it, by placing flies in its 

 way, while the Basque played upon his instrument. 

 By degrees the spider became accustomed to the 

 sound, and ran from its hole to receive its prey. 

 Thus by being always summoned by the same sound, 

 and having its food placed gradually at a farther 

 distance from the web, the insect in a few months 

 became so well disciplined, that at the first signal, 

 it would leave its hiding place, and come and take 

 its flies at the bottom of the chamber, under Pelis- 

 son's eyes. 



CHAPTER XV. 



CATERPILLARS. 



Their singular Habits— The Grub of the Domestic Moth fabricates a 

 Mantle — Habits of the Field Moth — Caddis-worm. 



The habits of some insects during their larva or 

 caterpillar state are so singular, and manifest so 

 much ingenuity and design, that a short account of 

 them cannot fail to prove interesting. 



Few insects appear more deserving of admiration 

 than those which possess the art of fabricating gar- 



