September 1, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



211 



hieroglyphic and hieratic ; thus, with the facilities for visit- 

 ing Egypt now available, and the fact that the country is 

 to some extent the foster-child of Great Britain, its history 

 and antiquities are more generally studied. The majestic 

 monuments, gorgeous temples, inscribed obelisks, rolls of 

 papyri, and embalmed bodies in animal and human 

 form, which for centuries baffled the learned and 

 astonished the tourist, have been made to tell their 

 story of battles and victories, arts and sciences, domestic 

 scenes and funeral ritual, which flourished five thousand 

 years ago. 



The monumental records and inscriptions in palaces and 

 temples were the principal means by which kings of Egypt 

 perpetuated the record of their deeds of adventure and 

 heroic achievement. 



It is the tombs, however, which have preserved to us 

 relics of the life, language, literature, and religion of the 

 people. It is the mode of embalming, the rolls of papyri, 

 the provision of all kinds of domestic furniture which were 

 deposited in the tomb for the use of the soul of the 

 deceased in the future life, which have given us a means of 

 reading anew the story of the life and religion and the 

 part animal worship played in the polytheistic notions of 

 this pious race. 



The varied and interesting collection of mummies, 

 mummy cases, and funereal furniture contained in the 

 British Museum has recently been enriched by the 

 acquisition of an enormous crocodile mummy. This 

 creature measures thirteen feet in length, and is well 

 preserved, having a swarm of young crocodiles on its back. 

 Dr. Pritchard, in his " Analysis of Egyptian Mythology," 

 says ; " The ancient Egyptians believed that the souls which 

 emanated from the primitive source transmigrated through 

 various bodies ; nor was this change confined to emanations 

 of a lower and secondary order. As the souls of men 

 transmigrated through different shapes, so the higher order 

 or spiritual agents could, as occasion required, assume any 

 form they chose ; and sometimes the gods appeared in the 

 world under the disguise of buUs, Lions, eagles, or other 

 creatures." 



This accounts for the vast army of gods, representing 

 30 many species in the natural world, which abound in 

 European museums. These were maintained in their 

 day at great expense in sacred parks and lakes, and 

 persons were appointed to nourish them with the greatest 

 care ; and, when they died, the same sacred rites were 

 performed over their bodies and the same preparation 

 was made for their interment as if they had been one of 

 the highest functionaries of the state. 



The famous feUow that has just been added to our 

 national collection was discovered at Kom-Ombos, in 

 Upper Egypt, a city where this creature was venerated as 

 early as 2.500 r.c, and where ruir.s still remain having 

 paintings relating to the adoration of Sebek. At the 

 south side of one temple the remains of a large pond have 

 been found, which probably served to satisfy the amphibious 

 instinct of this adorable manster. During the reiun of 

 Ptolemy Philadelphus, u.c. 330, the worship of the croco- 

 dile reached its highest point. 



The method employed in making crocodile mummies 

 seems to have varied with taste and means. While some 

 are exquisitely bandaged, others (as in the case of our 

 latest addition) were simply dipped in a solution of wax 

 and pitch, which renders them perfectly hard, and by 

 which the young progeny are securely fixed in the hollow 

 parts of the back. 



This is one of the finest specimens of a mummied 

 crocodile that we have seen. It was presented to the 

 British Museum by the Egyptian Government. 



SOME NOTES ON SPIDERS. 



By Eev. Saiitiel Bakbeb. 



IN a recent article in Knowledge (April, 1895) a graphic 

 illustration was given of spiders' pugnacity. This 

 quality is amusingly shown in their conjugal habits ; 

 the female so often devouring the male that a species 

 which live together in peace have acquired the 

 special epithet of " benigna " (Erijatis heni;in(i). 



The instinct of spiders in at once attacking a vital part 

 of their antagonist — as in the case of a theridion butchering 

 a cockroach by first binding its legs and then biting the 

 neck — is most remarkable; but they do not always have it 

 their own way. A certain species of mason-wasp selects a 

 certain spider as food for its larva, and, entombing fifteen 

 or sixteen in a tunnel of mud, fastens them down in a 

 paralyzed state as food for the prospective grubs. 



Perhaps the most entertaining points in connection with 

 spiders are their concentration of energy, their amazing 

 rapidity of action, and their inscrutable methods of 

 transition and flotation. 



During the past autumn large numbers of these 

 creatures appeared at intervals. Thus I observed a vast 

 network of Unes that seemed to have descended over the 

 town of Whitstable, in Kent, and which were not visible 

 the day before or the day after. Many were fifteen to 

 twenty feet long ; they stretched from house to lamp-post, 

 from tree to tree, from bush to bush ; and within six or 

 seven feet of the ground I counted, in a garden, twenty- 

 four or more parallel strands. The rapidity with which 

 spiders work may be gathered from the fact that, while 

 moving about Ln my room, I found their lines strung from 

 the very books I had, a moment before, been using. 



Insect hfe, as might have been expected after so mild a 

 winter and so dry a spring and summer, is (1896) intensely 

 exuberant. The balance is preserved by a corresponding 

 number of Arachnida. On May 2.5th and 26th the east wall 

 of the vicarage of Burgh-by-Sands was coated with a tissue 

 of web so delicate that it required a very close scrutiny to 

 detect it. I could find none of the spinners. Every square 

 inch of the building appeared coated with filmy lines, cross- 

 ing in places, but mostly horizontal, from north to south. 



Walking by the edge of a wheatfield in Sufiblk on May 

 14th, I observed all over the path, which was cracked with 

 the drought, dark objects flitting to and fro. They were 

 spiders — mostly of the hunting order. Tens of thousands 

 must have occupied a moderate space of the field, and the 

 cracks in the parched soil aflbrded them a handy retreat. 

 In reference to the visitation of spiders at Whitstable 

 during the autumn and winter of 189.3-6, it is right to note 

 that the people of that place regard them as a sign of an 

 east wind. In this connection we can note the fact of 

 phenomenal clouds of flies occurring at times on the east 

 coast of England ; and it would be interestmg if observers 

 could ascertain whether spiders ever cross the Channel 

 and accompany such visitations of insects. 



The production of the flotation line, and its method of 

 attachment, are the two points to which I ask the attention 

 of observers. 



Is it not evident that air (and probably at a high 

 temperature) must be enclosed within the meshes of the 

 substance forming the line when it passes from the 

 spinnerets into the atmosphere ? The creature with this 

 substance within its body drops to the ground at once by 

 force of gravitation ; yet, when emitted, the very same 

 substance lifts it into the air. It has been usual to explain 

 the ascent by the kite principle, i.' ., the mechanical force 

 of the contiguous atmosphere. But air movements, 

 especially on a small scale, are so capricious and un- 



