a2 
I think, I obferve a very remarkable texture 
in the arms of the Wolf Spider, which I can- 
not now thoroughly inveftigate. 
As to the Spider’s teeth, I do not find that 
they have. been hitherto defcribed by any au- 
thor, fince the parts fuppofed to be teeth, are, 
in reality, the creatures weapons or darts, by 
which it takes and kills little animals, after- 
wards fucking their blood. But to {peak firft 
of the darts, it is to be obferved, that they are 
two crooked, kindof horny, and fharp parts, 
like the claws: of birds of prey, and are fitu- 
ated in Spiders immediately under the eyes : 
but they are articulated with two ftrong, firm, 
kind of horny and mufcular fubftances, which 
are obferved to be fixed under the bottom of 
the breaft, in which the eyes are placed. I 
have feen clearly in my Spinning Spider, which 
is like that of Mouffet, as I before obferved, 
that thefe firm little bones grew on the infide, 
like certain blackifh eminences or juttings like 
,teeth, between which the fpicula, or darts, were 
fecurely and fafely inclofed, as the moveable 
blade of a knife is in the groove of its 
handle. 
I have not, on the narroweft infpection, 
been able to find the leaft opening in thefe 
darts, by which the infect might eject any 
venomous liquid; fuch an opening as we fee 
in the teeth or ftings of the Worm called the 
Sica, or Sicarius, or Affaffin, or fuch as it is faid 
are to be feen in the teeth of Vipers. I have 
not even been able to find any apertures in the 
ftings of the biggeft venomous Spider called 
Phalangium, though as long as half a joint of 
the firft finger. 
Neither could I ever perceive that Spiders, 
however irritated, difcharged any virulent mat- 
ter, though I have {pared no pains or attention 
to obferve them. Doctor Lifter alfo feems to 
have made the fame remark, and I fhall wil- 
lingly fubfcribe to his opinion ; till experience 
may inform me otherwife. 
It is very furprifing, that fuch ftrong and 
folid mufcles fhould be contained in the horny 
fubftance of thofe parts, to which the 
ftings are faftened. I have a method of ex- 
tracting thefe mufcles entire, in anatomizing 
the infect ; and the fame may be obferved of 
the mufcles ferving to move the claws of Crabs. 
No doubt, thefe parts agree much with the 
internal claws or pinchers of Scorpions, who 
likewife carry them under their eyes; and 
was it true that Spiders, on wounding any 
animal with their darts, difcharged a poifonous 
liquor along them into the wound fo made, we 
might then fay, that the darts of this infect 
and that of the Scorpion were perfectly alike , 
excepting this, that the Spider’s weapons are 
placed on the fore part of its body about the 
mouth and breaft, whereas that of the Scor- 
pion is fixed to its tail; befides, the Spider has 
two darts, and the Scorpion only one. But it 
is above ali things worthy obfervation, that in 
the Spider with two eyes, thefe darts are joined 
and formed into real forceps, as the indefati- 
The BOOK of NA TOU RE for, 
gable Lifter has obferved, and I have myfelf 
difcovered this to be the cafe in fome long 
footed ones which I dried: fo. far therefore 
thefe parts agree in make with the internal 
forceps of Scorpions. age 
Asto the true and proper teeth, I have found 
them fituated forward on the lower part of the 
thorax, immediately under the points of the 
darts, where they fhut one clofe to another; in 
the fame manner that I have obferved in the 
little crabs, and as may be feen in the Cray-Fifh. 
They are alfo fafhioned in the fame manner, 
but of a fubftance not fo horny. On pulling 
out thefe teeth, it appears that they are united 
with certain other little pieces; which may not 
improperly be called articulated briftles. We 
have here therefore a fatisfactory folution of 
the phenomenon, fo judicioufly obferved by doc- 
tor Lifter, viz. that there may be found in the 
excrements of Spiders, fome particles of the 
Flies they have devoured. His words are, 
** You would imagine they only lived by fuck- 
“* ing the juices of the Flies they catch, if you 
** were to view nothing but the dead carcafles 
“of thofe Flies; but if you attentively exa- 
‘‘ mine the excrements of the Spiders, you 
“¢ will find in them particles of their fkin or 
*‘ coat.” Spiders, therefore, actually devour 
fome parts of their prey, and fuck the juices 
from other parts of it, which they can eafily and . 
conveniently do, when they {queeze it between 
the denticular procefs of thofe parts, where 
their darts are inferted, and draw in its blood 
and juices. ‘They are able to do this the more 
eafily, as their darts terminate oppofite to their 
teeth ; for under the teeth there may be ob- 
ferved a little piece like a lip, and this procefs 
covers fome part of them. 
As to what regards the eyes of thefe crea- 
tures, I cannot at prefent examine them to 
my fatisfaction, the days being fhort, and the 
weather very cold and cloudy ; befides which, 
I have but one of thefe Spiders in my cabinet, 
placed there for the fake of obferving, whether 
the fevereft froft would not entirely ftiffen it, 
as is the cafe with Butterflies, and common 
Flies. But as I had doctor Lifter’s work, it 
induced me to undertake the diffecting of this 
fingle Spider, though I had at firft intended 
to fay nothing of Spiders in particular at this 
time. I difcovered that its two uppermoift 
eyes were fomewhat bigger than the others. 
This difference is very ftriking in the Flea-Spi- 
der, as it was evident from a drawing I for- 
merly took of this laft infect; in which I have 
reprefented its ten eyes. But neither can I now 
examine that kind of Spider fo accurately as I 
could wifh. Which way foever the fact may 
lie, I find the two eyes that are placed above 
the eight others, are reprefented very {mall in 
my drawing. 
I have carefully examined alfo, whether in 
the afpere arteriz of the Spider, there were any 
openings ; but I could find none in the thorax, 
nor any which ran into the belly: Tonly dif 
covered in this kind of web Spider an oblong 
member, 
