S74 THE SPIDER. 



Nature has supplied it with a large quantity of glutinous 

 matter that is concealed in a small bag within its body, 

 which the little weaver draws out through five small 

 teats into a number of the smallest lines, which are com- 

 bined with such ingenious art that the little victims 

 caught within the snare have but a small chance of 

 making their escape. The large blue-bottle fly, the 

 ichneumon fly, and the common meat-fly, are known 

 to be this creature's favourite food; and, when oneof 

 these is caught within its toils, the spider instantly de- 

 prives it of existence, by instilling a venomous juice 

 from its own body into that of the unfortunate insect 

 that is enslaved. 



The female generally lays, in one season, from nine 

 hundred to a thousand eggs, of a bluish colour, speck- 

 led with black, which in general are extremely small, 

 though their size, in a great measure, depends upon the 

 creature's age ; and they never begin laying until they 

 have terminated their second year. The moment the 

 young ones have escaped confinement, the attached pa- 

 rent takes them on her back, and defends them from 

 those dangers by which they are surrounded, until they 

 are sufficiently strong to preserve their own lives; but 

 they begin to spin when of a size scarcely to be seen, 

 and prepare for acts of plunder before they have ac- 

 quired force enough to overcome. Indeed Nature seems, 

 in every respect, to have formed them for hostility; and 

 they are not only at warfare with the insect race in 

 general, but spread destruction amongst themselves: as 

 a gentleman, who was fond of making experiments up- 

 on insects, collected an amazing number for the pur- 

 pose of converting their webs to some useful end; but, 

 instead of eating the food he prepared for them, they 

 Jiyed upon each other, and destroyed their eggs. Tfre 



