1902.] SPIDERS OP THE GENUS LATRODECTUS. 249 



The late Dr. Marx, too, tried many experiments on various 

 animals by injecting the contents of the poison-sac of these spiders, 

 but without any pi-ejudicial results. 



ISTumberless instances, however, have been quoted by authors 

 of cases in which human beings, supposed to have been bitten by 

 members of this genus, have manifested very serious symptoms. 

 And this is especially the case in connection with the Katipo, the 

 New Zealand variety. Mr. IJrquhart says that his friend 

 Mr, Robson stated that a man engaged in erecting a lighthouse 

 was bitten on the neck, and went" quite mad for some time.. 

 Mr. Wright, in 1869, gave many cases: an English boy was 

 bitten as he sat amongst the grass inhabited by a Katipo ; in 

 another case the spider crawled up a boy's trousers and gave him 

 a most dangerous wound. Carl Lumholtz, in his book ' Amongst 

 Cannibals,' says that Latrodectus hasseltii, the Australian form, is 

 very common and very dangerous to man ; a friend of his, bitten 

 in the leg, was seized with paralysis for three days. On the 

 third day he had a cold perpsiration, and recovered. 



There are said to be two kinds of Katipo— m\% black withovit 

 spots, the other black with red spots ; and the latter is regarded 

 as far the most poisonous. 



One might quote instances of these distressing symptoms from 

 all parts of the globe— North America, Chili, Central America, 

 Australia, Madagascar, New Zealand, and the Mediterranean; 

 and I must refer readers to the cases mentioned in the ' Bulletin ' 

 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for Jan. 1889 and onwards 

 (see the list of Literature), for some startling cases of blood- 

 poisoning, possibly caused by spider-bites, though there is no 

 evidence that the bites were inflicted by Latrodectus. 



But for well-authenticated cases of men, women, children, and 

 animals manifesting the symptoms of blood-poisoning, cases 

 which have been watched for days by medical men who may be 

 presumed to have been competent observers, we must refer to 

 the encyclopaedic work of Dr. Puga Borne, published in 1891,-2,-3. 

 Here we have stated the age, sex, condition and temperament of 

 the suflferers, the time of the year, and the condition of the 

 weather at the time the patient was bitten. Then we have 

 minute diagnoses of the symptoms, followed by a careful con- 

 sideration of the various remedies and their effect. 



But both in the works referred to before and in the present 

 case, there is always a noteworthy and important omission. No 

 mention is made as to what evidence there was that the bite was 

 actually inflicted by the spiders accused. Dr. Puga Borne states 

 that a sheep was bitten by five of these spiders, but he does not 

 say how they were encouraged to bite, how they were held, or 

 what part of the sheep was bitten. One cannot believe that so 

 many cases could be quoted by a medical man without he had 

 actually witnessed the act of biting, but it is an extraordinary 

 thing that he should not have thought it worth while to tell us 

 how the experiments were carried out and how so venomous a 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1902, Vol. I. No. XVII. 17 



