306 



starch into glucose. The spider has not a liver, although glycogen, which is 

 present, would lead one to believe it had. There is no bile, as the re-agents 

 to prove its presence are ineffectual. The middle intestine passes its contents 

 forward, through the working of the very thin muscular covering of this part 

 of the digestive tube, and the action of the muscles too. A thin covering 

 then surrounds this matter through the epithelium of this intestine. Hence 

 solid e.\crement is produced to be discharged by the creature. 



As to capturing spiders. Beginners nearly always would use their fingers, 

 in which case a great mistake would generally be made, because the fingers 

 are rough, although ready, weapons of attack— moreover they are injurious 

 to the creatures, because they are apt to damage the skin. Besides, some 

 spiders sting sharply, and would just as soon, for self-preservation, sting one 

 as not. It is possible that the minute forms of spiders would escape before 

 appliances could be obtained to capture the creature, in which case the finger 

 must be used. If this be so, moisten your finger with saliva quickly, just 

 sufficiently to hold your prey until you can get out your spirit bottle, and, 

 applying it to the spider, wash it into the bottle. One more remark about the 

 use of the fingers. If you are capturing a spider with them, always capture 

 by two legs, instead of one. The creature prefers losing a leg in the hope of 

 saving his life, to being caught. With his two legs he is too safely secured, 

 as a rule, to run away and leave them behind. As to places where they are to 

 be found, they are almost everywhere. Bushes, trees, flowers, old buildings, 

 palings, continually supply the searcher, but all spiders are not so readily to be 

 had. You must search amongst cut grass, amongst water-weeds, rubbish in the 

 way of sticks, amcmgst mosses, fungi, lichens, &c. Then when you see them, 

 vigilance is absolutely necessary. Pill-boxes, too, of various sizes, a lid in one 

 hand, the rest of the box in the other. A little ether or chloroform, if you 

 want to stu[)ify them, may be inserted between the cover and the box itself. 



That spiders emit sounds there need be very little doubt. The fact seems 

 well confirmed, although I am not aware that the way by which the noise is made 

 has yet been discovered. We do know how the cricket uses his rasp, and by 

 means of the drum beyond it creates its chirping ; but the spiders' mode of 

 uttering their noise, something like the tick of a watch, is not recorded, to my 

 knowledge. Whilst the way is not known to me, the fact of its being made is not 

 to be doubted. Sit in an ivy-covered arbour or bower in a summer or autumnal 

 evening, and you will hear sounds of a queer kind ; trace the source of them and 

 you will find they come from the spider. Since writing the above, I find that 

 Dahl has satisfied himself as to the presence of what are called auditory hairs, 

 which not only can discern sounds, but detect also variations of atmospheric 

 pressure. Besides this, an organ for smell is said to have been found on 

 the maxillse. Why these creatures should not possess these adjuncts to life it 

 is hard to conceive. Great credit is due, undoubtedly, to those who study and 

 work them out. 



There are sea spiders, as well as land and water spiders. They are queer, 

 weird-looking things. They seem to be all legs and no body. The main use of 



