102 ANIMAL PARASITES. 



According to the plan developed by me in the definition of the 

 idea of parasites, I must, of course, also omit those articulated ani- 

 mals which only wound men when they are irritated, or do not live 

 at all upon his juices. These are 1. The scorpions (class Arach- 

 nida ; order Araneida ; series of the cancroid Arachnida, family 

 of the scorpions, of which we know the sub-families Scorpio, 

 Buthus, Androctonus, and Centrums). The common European, 

 scorpion (Scorpio flavicandus, europaus, germanicus, terminalis, 

 which are only names for varieties of the same species) has six 

 eyes, and can only produce local phenomena, which are said to 

 disappear by treatment with oils or ammonia, and in which, 

 perhaps, collodion would prove useful. It is supposed that 

 the effects increase with the age of the animal, and with more 

 southern climates. The eight-eyed Buthus afer, which is espe- 

 cially an Indian species, is said to be much more dangerous. 

 Only local phenomena, can be laid to the charge of the 

 twelve-eyed Androctonus in Algiers. (On the scorpions in 

 Algiers and their poison, see Moritz Wagner, ' Reise in 

 Algier/ iii, p. 255.) 2. The true house-spiders (order 

 Araneida ; section Araneida first sub-section Sedentarias = 

 weaving spiders; family Epeira [geometric spider], Tegenaria 

 [house-spider], and the Italian Malmignatte [Latrodectus Mai- 

 mignatus}}. Their bite scarcely inflicts a worse wound than 

 that of a flea. However, some of the larger, southern spiders 

 may be more dangerous. Treatment with cold applications (cold 

 earth or collodion) is sufficient. It may also be mentioned that 

 a hysterical patient of Lopez pushed spiders under her eyelids, 

 in order that the surgeon might remove these parasites. 3. The 

 hunting spiders (Lycosida, according to others Vagabundae), the 

 third sub-section of the section Araneida, to which the cele- 

 brated Lycosa tarantula belongs. In Walkenaer's ' Tableau 

 des Arachnides/ p. 11, and in his 'Hist. nat. des Insectes 

 Apteres/ i, p. 291, note, and ii, p. 499, we find the literature 

 referring to Tarantulism. Ferrante is the first who referred to it. 

 Many are inclined to regard the tarantula dance, which was said 

 to occur after the bite, as a sort of chorea. It appears to me 



emission. This passage is, also, interesting from the narrative that Timon's nurse 

 annually fell into a somnambulic sleep for t\vo months, and also from its letting us see 

 that the ancients were already acquainted with delirium tremens. Kai ^i]v Iv ys. TOIQ 

 Mfjuovtioif ar)p,tHov rjTrctTiKov TrdSrovg avcfykypcnrra., TO TOVQ KaroiKidiovQ JIVQ 7rifj,r]- 

 Xwc; 7rap<x(pv\arTiv Kai ftiwKeiv o vvv ffbfittftov yivop.tvov uparai. 



