53 , . . 



she will of sudden draw it up again, and wind it into 

 a link with her fore-feet, bat more frequently break > 

 it off, and let it go. A spider will sometimes dart 

 out and break off many threads, before it spins one 

 that it will trust too. But at length she spins one 

 to her liking, and commits herself to the air upon it. 



The business of feeding is not all the use of these 

 threads; but they evidently sport and entertain them- 

 selves by means of them, floating to and fro in the 

 air, and changing their height at pleasure. 



These air-threads are not only found in autumn, 

 but even in the depth of winter. Tne serene days at 

 Christmas bring out many : but they are only short 

 and slender, being the work of young spiders, hatch. 

 d in autumn, and are thrown out as it seems only in 

 sport. The thicker ones of autumn are the only ones 

 intended to support the old spiders, when there is 

 plenty of small flies in the air, which make it worth 

 their while to sail among them. 



6. A Tarantul/i is a kind of spider, chiefly found 

 near the city of Tarentum, in Apulia. It is about 

 the siza of an acorn, and has eight eyes and eight feet. 

 Its skin is hairy ; from its mouth rise two trunks, a 

 little crooked and exceeding sharp. Through these 

 it conveys its poison : they seem likewise to be a 

 kind of moveabie nostrils, being in continual motion, 

 especially when it is seeking its food. It is found in 

 other parts of Italy, but is dangerous only in Apulia* 

 And there it does little hurt in the mountains (which 

 are cooler) but chiefly on the plains. Indeed it is 

 not venomous, but in the heat of summer, particularly 

 in the dog-days. It is then so enraged as to fly upon 

 any that come within its reach. 



The bite causes a pain,lik<: that by the stinging of a 

 bee. In a few hours the patient feels a numbness, 

 and the part is marked with a small livid circle, 

 which soon rises into a painful tumour, A little after 

 he falls into a deep sadness, breathes with much ciitfi- 

 cuity, his pulse grows feeble, and- his sea*S dull* 



D3 



