364 CHAPTER LI. 



French work on Entomology kindly lent me by Miss 

 S. Kose : 



" The Tarantula is a species of spider, very 

 injurious and venomous. It is a little larger than the 

 spiders which we usually find. It has on each side four 

 feet, each of which has four joints : it has also hooked 

 claws. With the four anterior feet it walks forward, 

 but with the others it retreats. It lives in a concavity 

 of the ground, at a depth of two feet. Into this hole it 

 thrusts itself by the posterior part of its body, so as 

 to preserve the more carefully the food which it is 

 dragging in with the front feet. In order to be the 

 better protected from all external annoyance, it closes 

 the entrance ; and for this purpose uses straws rather 

 than any other substance, so that it may be able to 

 draw its breath freely, and not be suffocated for want 

 of air. 



" The upper part of the body is of an ashy hue, 

 with red spots on the back. If you turn the insect 

 over, you observe that the belly below is yellowish, 

 and the abdomen is marked with black spots in some 

 places. She has in her mouth two blackish hooks 

 with which she bites and takes her food. She weaves 

 a web also, as do other spiders, and catches in it flies 

 and butterflies and animals of divers species, which 

 she lives upon. She lays about sixty eggs, which she 

 warms and hatches with her breast, and she carries 

 the young ones about until they are large enough to 

 shift for themselves. 



" The temperament of the Tarantula is cold, 

 damp, and phlegmatic. This is proved by the fact 

 that she can live a long time without eating, even as 

 much as fifty days. In the second place she is hurtful 



