282 NATURAL HISTORY. 
fharp, that they can eafily pierce the fkin therewith. Between thefe 
and the fore legs, there are two little horns or feelers, which it is obe 
ferved to move very brifkly, when it approaches its prey. It is cover- 
ed all over the body with a fort of fhort foft down, and propagates its 
fpecies like other Spiders, by laying of eggs, which fometimes amount 
to an hundred or more. In the fummer months, particularly in the 
dog-days, the Tarantula creeping among the corn in the fields, bites 
the mowers, and paflengers ; but in winter it lurks in holes, and is very 
feldom feen: the part which is bitten, is foon after difcoloured with a 
livid black or yellowith circle, attended with an inflammation. At firk 
the pain is fearcely felt, but a few hours after there comes on a violent 
ficknefs, difficulty of breathing, fainting, and fometimes trembling : 
the perfon who is bit, after this does nothing, but laugh, dance, and 
fkip about, putting himfelf into the moft extravagant poftures ; but 
this is not always the cafe, for he is fometimes feized with a dreadiul 
melancholy. At the return of the feafon in which he was bit, his mad- 
nefs begins again, and the patient always talks of the fame thing ; 
femetimes he fancies himfelf a fhepherd, a king, or any other charac- 
ter that comes into his head, and he always talks in a very extravagant 
manner: thefe troublefome fymptoms fometimes return for feveral years” 
fucceffively, and at length terminate in death. Gentlemen who have 
travelled into J/taly, affirm, that this odd diftemper is cured by a reme- 
dy altogether as odd, which is mufic; for this only will give them eafe, 
and they make ufe of the violin in particular: the mufician plays feve- 
ral tunes, till at length he happens to ind one that makes a great im- 
preffion upon the patient, at which time he begins to dance, and con- 
tinues fo doing, till he is all over in a fweat, which forces out’ the 
venom that did the mifchief; this dancing fometimes continues for 
three or four hours before the patient is weary, and before the fweat- 
ing is copious enough to cure the diforder. Saf 
The Spiders of the Wef-Indies, have much the fame properties as thofe 
of Europe, for they have almoft all a fort of bags, which feem to be 
made of fine leather, though it is woven with their threads; in thefe 
they lay their eggs, and either fit on them to hatch them, or to pre- 
ferve them from being devoured by other infed@s. However in the 
woods there are fome that are not common, for they are an inch and 2 
half long, and an inch broad; the fore part is made like a cufhion di- 
vided into fmall fquares, and the belly or hinder part is of an oval 
fhape, variegated with {pots and lines ; they are all grey, and have very 
tong legs, which are hard and hairy like the paws of a flying flag. 
The Martinico Spider is divided into two parts, and the belly, or hin-. 
der part is almoft as large as a hen’s egg, and covered all over with 
pretty long hair: the fore part is the fhorteft, and not quite fo thick, 
and in the middle of the back there is a fmall round opening, which 
will hold a pea, furrounded with hair, a little longer than that on the 
other parts of the body. From each fide of this part there proceeds 
five legs, longer than a man’s finger, all hairy, and confifting of four 
joints, and each has a pair of nippers, yery hard, and have the appear- 
ance of red horn; it has two teeth in the mouth of the fame fubftances 
about half the length of a common pin, and they are crooked, and as . 
Sharp as needles: they have two fmall black, fhining eyes, which are. 
‘ mot much larger than pin’s points: they make a bag as large as an 
egg-thell, 
