OF AMERICAN SPIDER. 53 



Jl Notice concerning the Spider, whose iccbb is used 

 in medicine. Bij N. M. Hentz. 



It lias been found lately, that the vvebb of a species 

 of spider, common in the cellars of this country, pos- 

 sesses very narcotic powers, and it has been admi- 

 nistered apparently with success in some cases of 

 fevers. 



Having for seme time past, studied with care, the 

 genus Aranea of Linueus, 1 have been induced to 

 write a description of this species; I therefore made a 

 drawing taken from a large female, which accompa- 

 nies the present notice. 



The genus Aranea of the first writers on Entomo- 

 logy being composed of a very great number of spe- 

 cies, it has been found necessary to divide it into smal- 

 ler sections, or families. Crmelins' edition of Linneus 

 contains ninety eight species; Walckenaer enumerates 

 nearly three hundred, and the number may be carried 

 to a thousand. If the colour of the abdomen were 

 the only character to find the species among several 

 hundreds, it would be a very difficult task to assign 

 with certainty a name to each separately, without 

 any other description. Messrs. Latreille and Walck- 

 enaer have rendered the history of this genus quite 

 easy to study : they have left little undone in regard 

 to the species known to them. It is to be regretted 

 that Mr. Walckf naer's Tableau des Araneides is not 

 a more common work. 



I shall therefore give the generic characters of 



