SUPERSTITIONS REGARDING SPIDERS. OO 



Anotlier notion connected with spiders is tliat certain kinds of wood 

 prevent their settUng and si>inning cobwebs. There is a common saying 

 at Winchester, England, that no spider will hang its web on a roof of 

 Irish oak, and the cicerone wlio shows the Cathedral Church at St. Davids 

 l>oints out to the visitor that the choir is roofed with Irish oak, whicii does 

 not Iiarbor spiders, though cobwebs are plentifully seen in otlier parts of 

 the cathedral.' 



The same faculty of repelling spiders is attributed also to cliestnut and 

 cedar woods, '■^ and the old roof at Turner's Court, Gloucestershire, four miles 

 from Bath, which is of chestnut, is said to be perfectly free from cobwebs. ^ 

 Hence, it is said, the cloisters of New College and of Christ Churcli are 

 roofed with chestnut."* 



I have at least once met this superstition in Italy, and am free to say 

 that there is no basis for it in fact. I do not remember ever to have visited 

 a public building, particularly a church or chapel, in which I have not 

 been able to trace somewhere the webs of spiders. No doubt, however, some 

 public edifices are inhospitable sites for araneads, simply for the reason 

 that they give little encouragement to the presence of those insects which 

 form a necessary part of spider subsistence. Naturally enough, spiders will 

 not resort to and cannot abide in places where they do not procure sufficient 

 food. The spiders which are most frequently found inside our homes and 

 public edifices are certain Lineweavers, mostly of the genus Theridium, and 

 one or two species of Tubeweavers. To these spiders we are indebted for 

 the common cobwebs of our ceilings and corners. The above are only a 

 few of tlie curious beliefs that have grown up around the spider among 

 all races of men. A number may be found in Cowan's work lieretofore 

 quoted.' 



IV. 



The possible commercial value of spider silk as an available textile in 

 indu.strial art has often been considered. It is not surprising that one 

 who sees the inmiense snares and bulky cocoons of tropical 

 Spider araneads or of some American species of Nephila, Argiope, and 

 Silkmln-j, .j.,^ that inhabit Florida and Southern California, should 

 ^rt think that such quantities of strong and beautiful spinning work 



might be put to practical use. As early a traveler as De Azara" 

 tells of a Paraguay spider whose spherical cocoon, an inch in length, was 

 utilized for spinning by the inhabitants of that land, not only on account 

 of its bulk, but its bright and fast orange color. It is probably a con- 

 gener of Nephila clavipes, the "silk spider," of whose silk, according 



1 Notes and Queries, second edition, I^'., 298, and Id., 377. 



^ Ibid., page 523. ' Ibid., page 421. 



* Ibid., page 298. * Curious History of Insects. 



« Voyages dans L'Amer. ]\Ierid. Don Feli.K de Azara, 1809, I., 212. 



