586 



the general facts above noted I am not yet acquainted with its 

 details. 



VENOM OF SPIDERS. 



At p. xxv. (Introduction) the venomous nature of British spiders* 

 is stated to be doubtful. Some experiments made by my son 

 Bertie (aged 12) during the early autumn of 1879, and 

 witnessed by myself, prove that there is a fluid of a docidedly 

 poisonous quality to human beings injected in tbe bites of some at 

 least of our spiders. Large and vigorous adult females of JEpeira 

 diademata, Clk., were allowed to bite the fingers in various places. 

 The spot bitten, and for some little space around, immediately 

 inflamed and caused considerable smarting ; in a few minutes a 

 small whitish lump arose with great itching and increased 

 smarting, aud remained for several hours ; it then gradually 

 subsided, and no more inconvenience was experienced. Similar 

 bites mado, on some other occasions, on my own fingers croated 

 no such symptoms or sensations. The effect of spiders bites 

 depends no doubt on climatic conditions, and on the state and 

 constitution of the person bitten. The sting of a nettle has, with 

 myself, the procise results detailed above as following the spider's 

 bites upon my son, only differing in this, that the nettle sting 

 leaves a painful itching for one, two, and often moro, days after- 

 wards. 



SPIDEES LINES. 



MODE OF FORMING THEIR SNARES. 



At p. xxi., (Introduction) it is stated that, in my own belief, the 

 usual method by which tho lines are stretched across open 

 spacos is by tho spider carrying its line across, drawing it from 

 the spinners as it goes on, and fixing it to the desired spot. 

 Another modo, commonly thought to be a usual one, is that by 

 which the line is omittod from the spinners and carried by a 

 current of air until it touches some projecting point, twig, or 

 branch, to which it adheres, and so enables the spider to traverse 

 the intervening space, or to use the line thus fixed for tho 



