298 TROPICAL SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS 



the larger mygales in London, where they no doubt would be 

 equally useful, and find a superabundance of vermin to feast 

 upon. 



A trap-door spider bounding on a cockroach, with all the 

 ferocity of a tiger springing on a deer or an antelope, would 

 have all the interest of a bull-fight or a tournament, if the 

 diminutive size of the combatants were swelled to more ample 

 proportions. 



Mr. E. Layard has described (^^^ Ann. Mag. Nat. H.," May 1853) 

 one of these encounters which he witnessed near a ruined 

 temple in Ceylon. When about a yard apart, each of the 

 enemies discerned the other and stood still, the spider with 

 his legs slightly bent and his body raised, the cockroach 

 confronting him, and directing his antennae with a restless 

 undulation towards his enemy. The spider, by stealthy move- 

 ments, approached to within a few inches, and paused, both par- 

 ties eyeing each other intently ; then suddenly a rush, a scuffle, 

 and both fell to the ground, when the blatta's wings closed ; the 

 spider seized it under the throat with his claws, and when he 

 had dragged it into a corner, the action of his jaws was dis- 

 tinctly audible. Next morning, Mr. Layard found the soft parts 

 of the body had been eaten, nothing but the head, thorax, and 

 elytra remaining. 



When we consider the large size of many of the tropical 

 spiders, and the strength of their threads, it seems probable 

 that their cocoons might be put to some use. We are told by 

 Azara, in his " Travels to Paraguay," that a spider exists in that 

 country the silk of whose spherical cocoons, measuring an inch 

 in diameter, is spun on account of its permanent orange-colour. 

 The eyes and noses of the women employed in unravelliug the 

 cocoons are said to water considerably, though without their 

 perceiving any pungent smell, or feeling any other inconve- 

 nience. This spider is perhaps the same as that which, 

 according to M. de Bomare, is known in the interior of South 

 America under the name of the silk spider. Its cocoon is of the 

 size of a pigeon's egg, the silk is soft, and can be easily 

 carded. 



Attempts have also been made in Europe to utilise the threads 

 of the large indigenous spiders. About the beginning of the last 

 century, M. Bon, a Frenchman, who seems to have been the 



