INTEODTJOTION. XXV. 



of its silken line is made by a species of Ep'iira, which I have 

 observed to drop down a considerable distance, and with great 

 swiftness, upon its prey, from the snare to the ground ; im- 

 mediately again ascending with the prey in its falces, by means 

 of the line emitted in its descent. 



Commercial use of Spider's Silk. 



It is not probable that any use (in a commercial sense) will 

 ever be made of spider's silk; least of aU is it probable in 

 respect to British spiders. 



The possibility, however, of winding, and weaving spider's 

 silk into articles of commerce is undoubted. Gloves and stock- 

 ings were made of it in France as long ago as a hundred and 

 fifty years; and quite recently — 1865-1869 — the fact has been 

 proved by Dr. Burt G. Wilder, of the Cornell University, Ithaca, 

 U.S.A. The carnivorous propensities of spiders are the great 

 hindrance to their being reared for the purpose of obtaining 

 the silk. 



Are Spiders Venomous? 



Among other reasons why spiders are so much neglected by 

 the common run of natural history observers, is the idea that 

 their bite is poisonous. This is, I t h i n k, certainly not the case 

 in respect to any known British spider. I have myself often 

 tested the absence of venom in some of our strongest species ; 

 and Mr. Blackwall's far more extended experiments some years 

 ago — Linn. Trans, xxi., p.p. 31-37 — were attended with a similar 

 result. There is, however, good reason to believe that in the 

 South of Europe, as well as iu the Tropics, and certainly in New 

 Zealand, there are some venomous spiders, but these are no^ 

 among the larger kinds, and the species are probably few. 



In all cases of bites by spiders — as in the case of bites or 

 stings by venomous insects, scorpions, and serpents, the effect 

 of course, depends very materially on the immediate condition, 

 both of the biter and the patient. 



Although, however, not generally venomous in respect to man- 

 kind, the bite of a spider is undoubtedly poisonous when inflicted 

 upon its prey. One effect of it is, probably in most cases, to 



