216 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



Snakes, ^vorms and other animals of the lovrer order, are like the 

 spider in this respect. A spider has from four to six e^-es vrbich 

 are so strong tliey enable it to see night or day. The}^ have six 

 jaws, and six legs furnished with hooks at the end, which enable 

 them to perform some curious feats. They are oviporous, and 

 the young, as soon as hatched, show the solitary habits of the old 

 ones. Some of them carry their eggs in a sac attached to the 

 body. Their power of spinning their threads is wonderful. Natu- 

 ralists state that some kinds spin one hundred strands, which are 

 united iu one directly after leaving the body. If a spider wishes 

 to descend from a ceiling, it glues the end of the thread fast, and 

 lets itself down, and ascends again hand over hand. It is a curi- 

 ous fact that the spider, like all domestic animals, is ambidexter. 

 Anatomists have failed to fathom the mj^stery of man's being 

 rio-ht-handed. It is a curious fact that spider-webs are always 

 made to suit circumstances, and their work implies thought and 

 memory. They are like some of the Crustacea and other low 

 orders, lobsters, for instance, which have the power of growing 

 new claws. If a lizard's tail is cut off, nature soon replaces it, 

 and so it does a spider's leg. As to the bite of a spider being 

 poisonous, it is a mooted question. It is believed by those most 

 competent to know, that if the 1)itc is inflicted Avhen the animal is 

 very much excited and really ferocious, that the l)ite is poisonous. 

 The whole ftunily appear to i)e as uutameable as sharks, and as 

 much at war with every other species. They will boldly attack 

 insects twice their own size, and seem to delight in torturing 

 their victims. I have seen one attack and kill a large caterpillar, 

 leaving it for the food of a beetle, which dragged it away as soon 

 as the spider had destroyed its life. It is very curious to see a 

 spider watch a fly that is entangled in its web. I have seen one 

 wait till the fly ceased struggling for a moment, and then run out 

 and attach one cord after another to prevent the escape of its vic- 

 tim. Sometimes it is kept in suspense, or to furnish a supply of 

 fresh meat every day. It is very curious to see how quicklj' a 

 spider will reconstruct its wel) when destroyed. The senses of 

 sight, taste, hearing and feeling, appear to be very acute in all the 

 family. The body seems to be all ears. If you cut ofl" a spider's 

 auteunte, it runs itself into all sorts of difBcultics. Like other 

 insects they possess remarkable strength. An ant will carry a 

 load fifty times the size of itself. The characteristics of spiders 

 seem to be particularh- adapted to various localities. Here we 



