134 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Description of the fasciata. 



a case-bottle above eight inches high ; and, when 

 this was filled with spirits, the animal reached 

 the surface with some of its claws, while others 

 rested on the bottom. On the whole, he says, 

 this spider is so hideous a creature, that the very 

 sight of it is sufficient to occasion a tremor of 

 abhorrence, even in persons most accustomed to 

 inspect the deformities of nature. 



The fasciata is a native of Barbary, and is as 

 large as a man's thumb. It has yellow bands 

 round the belly, and dusky rings round the legs. 

 It inhabits hedges and thickets. Its webs have 

 large meshes, and it resides in the centre; the 

 snares are spread for large flies, wasps, drones, 

 and even locusts ; the lesser insects can escape 

 through the meshes. The animal which it en- 

 tangles is soon bound with strong threads, killed 

 by the spider's jaws, and partly eat, if the spider 

 be hungry ; the rest is concealed under some 

 neighbouring dry leaves, covered with a kind of 

 web and a blackish glue in great abundance; its 

 larder is said to be often plentifully stored. Its 

 nest is of the size of a pigeon's egg, divided ho- 

 rizontally, and suspended by the threads of the 

 insect, which are of a silvery white, and stronger 

 than silk. The young ones live in amity, but 

 when grown up are mortal enemies; they never 

 meet but they fight with violence, and their 

 battle only ends with the death of the weakest; 

 the dead body is carefully stored in the larder. 

 Twelve of these spiders, by way of experiment, 



