THE SPIDER. 
5 6 J 
HI this manner they arc carried by the parent, like ano- 
ther body attached to her own. 
With all this tenderncfs for its young, there is no 
animal more ferocious, or more powerfully armed for de- 
ilruaion than the fpider : It can deftroy infects far above 
its fize • and its indifcriminate rapacity dees not even 
fpare thofe of its own kind. Reaumur, when he endeavour- 
ed to turn the labours of different infefts that fpin ink to 
the advantage of roan, was foiled in all his attempts to 
domefticate the fpider. He provided them with a habi- 
tation, and with every kind of food, flies, and blood m 
the ends of unripe feathers, a morfel of which they are 
particularly fond: but all was m vain ; their malignant 
nature rendered them unfit for fociety, and turned them 
from their food to deftroy each other. By perfeverance, 
however, he obtained as much of the fllk intended for 
the covering of their eggs, as enabled him to manufac- 
ture a pair of gloves of thefe curious materials. 
' Jranea boftenfis. This fpecies frequents the garden 
trees, among the branches of which it fpins its web, and 
ftations itfelf in the centre. The body is of a brcwmfti 
colour ; the eyes very fmall, and of a violet purple f. 
With the fllk of this fpider M. Bon of Languedoc con- 
trived to manufacture a pair of fllk ftockmgs, of a fine 
grey colour, and in ftrength and elegance nearly equal to 
thofe of common fllk. ... , 
Jranea domejlica. This fpecies inhabits windows and 
unfrequented apartments ; it is oblong, and o a iowa 
colour ; the abdomen black. This aroma* ms ioui ca 
4 B2 vltleS 
•{- Lifter, Aran. 83. 
