56 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



unlcaii provoked, and may be suffered to run over one'rf person with 

 impunity. 



Perhaps the most remarkable fact in connection with this spider is, 

 that it can be fed and watered by hand ; a live fly held to its jaws is 

 seized as soon as a buzz makes its presence known ; so also a bit of 

 chicken-liver, if touched to the jaws ; and if a drop of water be pre- 

 sented on a camel's-hair pencil, it will be readily taken and gradually 

 swallowed. It is evident that the spiders drink the drops of water 

 which are left in the web from the rain or dew ; and they thrive best in 

 a moist atmosphere. 



The female lays four or five hundred eggs, half as large as a pin's 

 head, and slightly agglutinated together in a rounded mass, which is 

 secured on the lower side of a leaf by a strong silken cocoon of loose 

 texture, and varying in color. Many of the eggs which were laid by 

 my spiders in September were hatched in about thirty days. The 

 young differ much from the adult in form and color ; and the changes 

 which they pass through in growth will prove a most interesting branch 

 of the subject. The young do not leave the cocoon for some time ; and 

 even after they have, are more or less gregarious, — always keeping in 

 companies, and preserving good order while moving. They need 

 water, and, if not supplied with food, are prone to eat one another. 

 If properly attended to, they grow quite rapidly ; * and although at 

 first they make only an irregular web in common, yet after they have 

 attained a length of half an inch, they will, if separated, construct 

 regular geometrical webs. 



In a state of nature, not many over one per cent of the spiders 

 which are hatched live to maturity ; so that the question of a practical 

 value of this silk depends upon the success of the attempts to prevent 

 this destruction, which is apparently due to their own voracity, to the 

 elements, and to other insects. 



Much more might be related concerning the habits of the insect, 

 of the manner of keeping and feeding the young, of the means of 

 securing the spider while its silk is obtained, and of the various appa- 

 ratus employed ; but I am so impressed with the peculiarities thus far 

 observed in themselves, and with the beauty and strength of the silk, 

 that if time and means permit I shall continue the inquiry as far as 

 possible. And having now, as I hope, established my claim to the 



* Feb. 23d, 1866. Some of these young are now more than an inch in length. 



