ON ARACIINIDA. 
463 
liquors, such as tafia, rum, soon relieve such symptoms, by 
inducing sleep and perspiration. Badier has often met with 
the same species in the island of Guadaloupe ; but he has 
always found it in argillaceous soils which present a gentle 
declivity. Retired within its nest, this animal scarcely gives 
any sign of life. 
Olivier has observed, in the environs of Saint Tropes, and 
in the isles of Hyeres, the nest of a mygale, which, from its 
position and construction, would seem to be very distinct from 
the others, and to announce peculiar manners. This nest was 
situated in a horizontal soil. Its door, although of clay, 
and closing of itself by a sort of spring, resembled a circle, 
from which a small portion had been cut off. It was 
attached to one of the sides of the aperture, and the entrance 
was free- The inhabitant was absent, and this naturalist 
conjectured that it does not close this entrance but at the 
time when it is actually occupying the nest. M. Latreille 
believes this species to be his mygale carminaus . M. Boyer 
de Foulolombe has observed this same nest with more atten- 
tion than Olivier, although he was never able to surprise the 
animal in its dwelling. It is formed of a sort of tube of silk, 
sunk vertically in the ground, and covered at its orifice by 
two shutters placed in a horizontal position, at the suface of 
the soil. A solid partition cuts this external door, a little 
above it. Some persons informed this naturalist that thev 
had seen the animal come out, and re-enter, shutting the door 
after it. 
A very curious species is the mason-spider ( mygale cemen- 
taria) which is found in the neighbourhood of Mont- 
pellier. Almost all the araneides have the two upper hooks 
of their tarsi pectinated, or formed like a comb, we may 
easily conceive that from this arrangement of these parts, 
they find the means proper for the execution of their labours. 
But the hooks of this mygale, from their simplicity, seem but 
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