T H E S P I D E R. 267 



If the fly be not entirely immelhed, the fpider waits, without appearing, 

 till its prey has fatigued itfelf by its ftruggles. If the fpider has faded 

 long, it drags the fly to its hole and devours it ; but if not prefled by 

 hunger, it gives the fly two or three turns in its web, completely to im- 

 me(h it, and there leaves it for a future feafl:. 



The males are much lefs than the females; having parts of genera- 

 tion placed in the fore arms, as if burfting out from the points of his 

 fore feet. Their receptacle is beneath the body of the female. She ge- 

 nerally lays from nine hundred to a thoufand eggs in a feafon j blucifh, 

 fpeckled with black, feparated from each other by a glutinous fubftance, 

 not unlike frog-fpawn water. Some are as large as a grain of muft:ard- 

 feed; others fcarcely vifible. She never lays till two years old. When her 

 eggs have remained an hour or two to dry, flie prepares them a bag by 

 fpinning a web four or five times flironger than that for catching flies, and 

 lined within by a down from her brcaft. This bag is as thick as paper, 

 fmooth within, rough without. Within this they depofit their eggs. 

 They flick it by the glutinous fluid to the end of their body ; fo that the 

 animal appears as if flie had one body behind another. If this bag bs 

 feparated from her, flie employs all her afliduity to flick it again in its 

 former fltuation, and feldom abandons her treafure but with her life. 

 When the young are excluded from their fliells, within the bag, they re- 

 main fome time in their confinement, till the female, inftinflively knovv-» 

 ing their maturity, bites open their prifoo, and fets them free. She re- 

 ceives them on her back for fcm.e time, until they have ftrength to pro- 

 vide for them felves. They begin to fpin when fcarce difcernlble, and to 

 prepare for a life of plunder. They are able to deftroy animals ten times 

 bigger than themfelves, and they quickly recover of wounds. 



Spiders are enemies of each other; they are of fuch a malignant na- 

 ture, they cannot live in foctcty, but, inflead of their food, devour each 

 other. 



Of this animal are feveral kinds, flightly differing from each other, 

 either in habits or conformation. The Water-Spider is the moft re- 

 markable. This infeft refembles the common fpider, except that its 

 hinder part is rather the fliape of a nine-pin than a ball. They differ, 

 by living both by land and water, and fpinning in both elements. Their 

 appearance under water is remarkable ; they inhabit the bottom, yet are 

 never touched by the elemicnt in which they refide, but are cnclofcd in a 

 bubble of air that furrounds them. This bubble has the bright appear- 

 ance of quickfllver ; within this they continue eating, fpjnning, and 



flecping. 



