Literary Notices. Ixv 



the space of three or four seconds the fly was completely swathed in 

 an envelope of white silk, and was motionless. The spider then fast- 

 ened her fangs into the body, and sucked it for about two hours. 



I have since seen several of these spiders on their webs, and 

 have noticed that the pattern of the snare appears to depend on the 

 size of the insect, the smaller specimens making the circular rosette- 

 shaped snare, while the larger insects weave the cross orchid-like 

 flower. I saw one small web composed of two little rosettes, joined 

 side by side, but I did not notice whether it was inhabited by two 

 spiders. I frequently found wings and other debris of insects hang- 

 ing to the rosettes of the webs, and in one case saw a wing of what 

 must have been a butterfly of considerable size. 



When does the spider alter the pattern of her snare ? Can it be 

 that, when the spider attains to full growth, finding that the rosette 

 shape, becoming too large, no longer deceives butterflies and other 

 insects, she adopts the orchid-like [pattern which has more vraiscmb- 

 lance, and over which she can dispose her long legs with a better 

 chance of successful trickery. 



The web of this spider being so like a flower would appear to be 

 intended as a veritable " snare." The insect by assuming its bright 

 blue color increases the resemblance and the mimicry is probably 

 practised not so much tor the protection of the spider herself, but 

 rather for the attraction it presents to butterflies and other flower-fre- 

 quenting insects." 



The Diseases of tJie Nervous System.' 



This well-printed and copiously illustrated volume of 688 pages 

 is one of the rare illustrations of really good German text book. 



The prolixity and sporadic minuteness characteristic of many, 

 perhaps a majority of European handbooks, is conspicuously absent, 

 while, on the other hand we find logical arrangement, concise state- 

 ment and simple, almost popular style. It is hard to say how much 

 of the admirable lucidity of the book is due to the translators whose 

 work is obviously excellently done. 



It is evident that the practical needs of the medical student and 

 practitioner have been foremost in the author's mind. Little space is 

 devoted to anatomical conjectures and none to the pathological histol- 

 ogy. The great extent of the subject precludes treatment of all sub- 



' HiRT, LuDWiG. Translated by Hoch and Smith and with an introduction 

 by William Osier. New York, 1893. ^- Appleton and Co. 



