THE SCORPIONS POISON 299 



': first that ever put the idea into practice, collected a sufficient 



I ! quantity to make some stockings and gloves, which he presented 



' to the king, Louis Quatorze, and to the Academy of Sciences 

 in Paris. His discovery caused a sensation at the time, and 

 his dissertation on the subject was translated into all European 

 languages, and at a later period even into the Chinese, by order 

 of the Emperor Kien Long. The celebrated Eeaumur, however, 

 wlio was commissioned by the Academy to report on M. Bon's 

 discovery, pointed out how difficult it would be to put it to any 

 extensive use, as it would require no less than 



'55,296 of the epeira diadema to produce a 

 single pound of silk ; and how were all these 

 to be provided with flies ! 



If the extreme fineness of the spider's 

 tl Heads is an obstacle to their being spun 

 and woven, this property, united with their ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^' 



metallic brilliancy, renders them an excellent material for the 

 coiKstruction of the micrometers used for astronomical purposes: 

 tlic finest silver-thread which it is possible to spin having a dia- 

 meter of -q^ of an inch, while spiders' threads measure onl}^ ToVo 

 or even -qoVo' Troughton, an eminent English instrument 



( maker, first thought of substituting them for the silver-threads 

 then in use, and they were found to answer so well that since 



. that time they have been constantly employed. 



j The scorpions, which even in Europe are reckoned among the 

 most malignant insects, are truly terrific in the torrid zone, 



, where they frequently attain a length of six or seven inches. 

 Closely allied to the spiders, their aspect is still more repulsive. 

 Were one of the largest scorpions menacingly to creep up against 

 you, with extended claws and its long articulated sharply-pointed 

 tail projecting over its head, I think, despite the strength of your 

 nerves, you would start back, justly concluding that a creature of 

 such an aspect must necessarily come with the worst intentions. 

 The poison of the scorpion is discharged like that of the snake. 

 Near the tip of the crooked sting namely, which terminates the 

 tail, we find two or three very small foramina, through which, on 

 pressure, the venom of the gland with which they are connected 



, immediately issues forth. By means of this weapon, even the 



I small European scorpions are able to kill a dog, while the tropi- 

 cal giants of the race inflict wounds that become fatal to man 



