822 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



Aranea aquatica is a middle-sized 

 species of a deep chesnul-colour, 

 residing entirely under water, 

 generally in very clear ponds or 

 fountains, and forming for itself a 

 small tissue or web confining a pro. 

 per quantity of air : sometimes this 

 species is observed to take posses- 

 sion of a vacant shell, in which case 

 it closes the mouth with aslight web. 



The exact distinction of spccii s 

 in this genus, especially among the 

 smaller kinds, is often extremely 

 diflicult and uncertain ; since the 

 animals are sometimes difi'erently 

 marked during the dift'erent periods 

 of their life: some however arc in 

 this respect perfectly constant, 

 bearing the same distribution of 

 colours from their first hatching to 

 their latest period. 



The gigantic Aranca avicularia or 

 bird-catching spider is too remark, 

 able an insect to be passed over in 

 silence. This enormous spider is 

 not uncommon in many parts of the 

 East Indies and South America, 

 where it resides among trees ; fre- 

 quently seizing on small birds, 

 which it destroys by wounding w ith 

 its fangs, and afterwards sucking 

 their blood : the slit or orifice near 

 ihe tip of the fangs in spiders, 

 through which the poisonous fluid 

 is evacuated, and the existence of 

 which has sometimes afforded so 

 much matter of doujt among na- 

 turalists, is in this species so visible 

 that it may be distinctly perceived 

 without the assistance of a glass. 



This animal appears to admit of 

 some varieties, dilfering both in size 

 and colour ; or rather, it is pro- 

 bable that several spocies, really 

 distinct, have been often confound- 

 ed in the works of naturalists under 

 one common title. This account 



is drawn up from one of the largest 

 specimens in the Leverian Museum : 

 its colour is an uniform dusky brown. 

 During the early part of the last 

 century a project was entertained 

 by a French gentleman, Mons. 

 Bon of Montpellier, of rnstitutiiig a 

 manufacture of spider's silk, and the 

 royal academy, to which the scheme 

 was proposed, appointed the inge- 

 nious Reaumur to repeat the ex- 

 periments of Mons. Bon, in order 

 to ascertain how far the proposed 

 plan might be carried ; but, after 

 making the proper trials, Mr. 

 Reaumur found it to be impracti- 

 cable, on account of the natural 

 disposition of these animals, which 

 is sucli as will by no means admit of 

 their living ])eaceabiy together in 

 large numbers. Mr. Reaumur also 

 computed that 663, .522 spiders 

 would scarcely furnish a single 

 pound of silk. Mons. Bon how- 

 ever, the first projector, carried his 

 experiments so far as to obtain two 

 or three i)air of stockings and gloves 

 of this silk, which wore of an ele- 

 gant grey colour, and were present- 

 ed, as samples, to the royal academy. 

 It must be observed that in this 

 manufacture it is the silk of the egg- 

 bags alone that can be used, being 

 far stronger than that of the webs. 

 Mons. Bon collected twelve or thir- 

 teen ounces of these, and having 

 caused tlicm to be well cleared of 

 dust, by properly beating with 

 sticks, he washed them perfectly 

 clean in warm water. After this 

 they were laid to steep, in a large 

 vessel, with soap, salt-petre, and 

 gum arable. The whole was left 

 to boil over a gentle fire for three 

 hours, and were afterwards again 

 washed to get out the soap ; then 

 laid to dry for some days, after 



which 



