"Lhe? Eee deeS “9 OUR Y “of 
member, like the penis of many animals, 
fituated in the middle of its belly, on the out- 
fide of its body, on a very prominent place 
near the thorax; and near this member there 
were two yellowith {pots in the form of moons, 
covered with a fofter fkin than the other parts 
of the belly. 
But not to dwell too long upon thefe parts, 
the following are the principal of the others, 
which occurred to me on examining this Spi- 
der ; befides eight eyes fituated in the head 
and thorax, and on the fore part under the 
eyes, the darts with their joints; behind and 
under thofe darts in the thorax, appeared its 
mouth and teeth; then beyond thefe were 
two arms with their claws, and after thefe 
eight legs, each with feven joints and two 
claws at their extremities; add to thefe the 
belly, with its peniform member, and the 
down, and fharp briftly hairs, with which the 
fkin both of the body and legs are all over 
covered, | 
I cannot yet fay much of the internal parts, 
but I may affirm, that I faw very diftinétly the 
‘ mutcles of the legs, elaws and darts; I could 
likewife perceive that the thorax was quite full - 
of mufcles, fo as hardly to contain any thing 
befides the mouth, heart, and {pinal marrow ; 
but I have not obferved thefe mutcles of the 
thorax diftin@tly enough, to be able to affirm 
any thing certain concerning them. 
The mufcular integument of the belly was 
very eafily feparated from the inteftines which 
it contained; and under this there appeared 
an elegant piece of net-work, like an omentum 
or cawl, confifting of globules delicately fixed 
to one another, and of a whitith purple colour. | 
On opening this omentum, I thought I 
could perceive the abdomen, which was fhap- 
ed like the tendril of the vine; then firtt ap- 
peared pretty diftin@ly the inteftines, through 
which there ran here and there whitith veffels, 
which I took for produétions of the afpera ar- 
teria. Next there came in fight a‘tranfparent 
yellowith mafs of a globular figure, which 
might be taken for a {tring of eges, if the 
peniform particle or member already obferv- 
ed had not indicated the creature to-be male ; 
and confequently this fomething elfe. 
The little bag, in which the Spider carried 
the ftuff for its web, like {oft glue, wastwitted 
into many coils of an agate colour; and upon 
breaking it, the contents were eafily drawn 
out into threads: but as I made all thefe ob- 
fervations in hafte, and in the firt diffeG@ion 
of a Spider that I ever fet myfelf about with 
attention, I neither can, or dare vouch, for the 
perfect certainty of them all. I refer to fome 
other opportunity a more careful furvey of 
this moft curious fubject. 
In the mean time, we have great reafon to 
be concerned that door Lifter did not think 
proper to finifh his excellent work with the 
anatomy of all thefe parts; which would cer- 
tainly have been a moft valuable addition to 
{cience. He has laboured ftrenuoufly in the 
INSECTS. 23 
other parts, every where giving proofs that he 
wrote his hiftory in an accurate and regular 
manner from his own obfervations. This is 
the reverfe of what the generdlity of modern 
writers practife, who do nothing but plunder 
each other, and then, like AEfop’s crow, 
adorned with the feathers of other birds, and 
weakly glorying in their borrowed finery, per= 
fuade themfelves that what they have pillaged | 
from others, is the offspring of their own 
brain, though they do not fo much as under- 
ftand it. We may.the more readily excufe 
fuch high notions in them, when we know 
they are no more than the monitrous produc- 
tions of a heated imagination. 
Of the Flea Spider I preferve two kinds. 
Thefe feize their prey by a fudden leap, and 
therefore nature has provided them, as well 
as other Spiders, with eight eyes, and a moft 
acute fight: it is more difficult to judge of 
this fight in the Spiders that make webs; for 
fo far from taking notice of a finger put clofe 
to their eyes, they neither exprefs any con- 
cern at it, norattempt to run away; whereas, 
let the moft minute animal fall into their 
nets, they immediately perceive, and lay hold 
of it. This apparent infenfibility on the one 
hand, and readinefs of perception on the other, 
has made fome philofophers think the web 
Spiders had no eyes, but received information 
only concerning their prey, by the tremulous 
motion of their web. When thefe gentlemen 
further confider, that what look like eyes in 
Spiders, never appear when viewed with the 
microfcope of a reticular form, as is the cafe 
in the Scorpion: they more roundly deny that 
they have any eyes. But it by no means fol- 
lows from the web Spider’s never leaping upon 
its prey, or from its never running to it, un- 
lefs when taken in its net, that it has no eyes; 
and this conclufion mutt appear yet weaker, 
on confidering that eyes are as diftinétly per- 
ceivable in this kind, as in the Flea Spider, 
and withal are difpofed in the fame manner. 
As to the argument drawn from the parts 
which look like eyes in web Spiders, not be- 
ing formed in the reticular manner, asin other 
infects, it is equally unfatisfactory: for what 
difference is there between its eyes being placed 
fingly in different parts on the furface of the 
body, as inthe Flea Spider, and their being 
gathered into one net as in other infects? be- 
fides, the eyes of Spiders thus fcattered, are 
much larger than thofe which form the netted 
eyes in other infects ; fo that, every thing duly 
confidered, there is reafon to affirm, that Spi- 
ders have a more perfect fight than the gene- 
rality of other infects, except the Libella or 
Dragon Fly, which appears to have very large, 
or very numerous complex eyes, fo as to af- 
ford an opportunity of trying upon it many 
curious experiments, Thus, has nature dif- 
played her wonders, even in thofe little animals, 
which, at firft fight, appear to many beneath 
their notice ; at the fame time that fhe ordains 
the largeft animals to proceed originally from 
principles 
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