USES OF SPIDERS 



297 



put up his hand to wipe it off, and was sharply stung, both on 

 the hand and head ; the pain was very acute. On obtaining a 

 light, he found that it had been inflicted by a light-coloured 

 spider about half an inch in length ; but one of the negroes hav- 

 ing crushed it with his fingers, he had no opportunity of examin- 

 ing whether the pain had been produced by poison from a 

 sting, or from its mandibles. No remedy was applied, and the 

 pain ceased in about two hours. 



The Bech Lianas believe that there is a small black spider in 

 the country whose bite is fatal, but Dr. Livingstone never met 

 with an instance in which death could be traced to this insect. 



If thus, among the many species of spiders, hardly a single 

 one may be said to be formidable to man, the indirect 

 services which they render him — by diminishing the number 

 of noxious insects, or keeping in check the legions of gnats 

 which irritate and annoy him by their attacks — are far from 

 inconsiderable. 



Nor are they entirely without direct use. Several savage 

 nations eat spiders, and the inhabitants of New Caledonia reckon 

 a large species of epeira amongst the choicest delicacies of the 

 land. Even in Europe some people enjoy a spider, and the 

 famous astronomer Lalande was far from being singular in this 

 respect. They are said to taste like filberts, and the proper way 

 to eat them is to take off the legs, and to swallow the abdomen, 

 after having washed and rubbed it with butter. 



The property of spiders'-webs to stop an haemorrhage or the 

 bleeding of a wound is a well-known fact, and they have also 

 been recommended as an anti-febrifuge. 



In several countries where the insects cause great ravages, 

 the services of the spiders are duly appreciated. Thus in 

 the West Indies, a large and formidable trap-door spider, 

 which would make a European start back with horror, is 

 looked upon with pleasure by the islanders of the torrid zone, 

 who respect it as a sacred animal, by no means to be disturbed 

 or harmed, as it delivers them from the cockroaches, which 

 otherwise would overrun their dwellings. Those who do not 

 possess these spiders take good care to purchase and transport 

 them into their houses, expecting from them similar services to 

 those we derive from a good domestic cat. I wonder whether 

 it has ever been attempted to acclimatise this spider or any of 



