of their perceptions, in which they appear to excel most insects. They are, as we have seen, extremely sensible to variations of tem perature, and generally averse to moisture. In the first stages of their existence, they are formed so as not to be capable of resisting the ordinary action of the air, and being totally helpless, would speedily perish, if left to themselves; and we have seen what assi duous and persevering care is required during the whole period of the hatching of the eggs, and the progress of the larve to maturity. All these circumstances place the young for a much longer time in a state of dependence upon their natural protectors, than in the case of most other insects: and in all these circumstances they agree with the bee and the wasp, which are alike gregarious. We recognise in our own species the foundation that is laid for the ties of society, by the helpless condition of the infant, which continues for so long a period to be dependent on others; and can we refuse to admit the operation of a similar principle in other departments of the animal creation, which are obedient to the laws which the same Providence has ordained for the good of all?

Greater varieties unquestionably occur in the conditions of ani. mals than most philosophers have been willing to allow; and it must be confessed, that in spite of all our efforts at philosophical distinctions, the various kinds of actions of animals pass into one an. other by such imperceptible shades, and their sensitive existence differs so widely from our own, that we have properly no measure by which to fathom their reasoning powers. As well might we hope to discover the origin of the punctum saliens in the incubated egg, as to determine the point where the dawn of intellect appears, or assign the boundary where instinct assumes the form of reason. Nothing is simple in nature; all that we see is the effect of prodigious art: means are accumulated for the production of remote ends, in a series extending far beyond the sphere of our limited optics. We can discern clearly but a few of the final causes in na ture, and but a few of the powers that operate in their accomplishment.

[Pantolog. Edinb. Rev. Huber's Recherches sur les Moeurs des Fourmis Indigènes.

SECTION XV.

Spider.

Aranea.-LINN.

THE very extensive genus Aranea may be distributed into several sections, according to the habit or shape of body, or according to the position of the eyes, which are differently placed in the different families. We shall at present however mention only a few of the most remarkable species, without any particular division of the genus.

One of the largest of the European spiders is the Aranea Dia. dema of Linnæus, which is extremely common in our own country, and is chiefly seen during the autumnal season in gardens, &c. The body of this species, when full grown, is not much inferior in size to a small hazel nut: the general colour of the animal is deep chesnut-brown, approaching to reddish in some specimens; and the abdomen is beautifully marked by a longitudinal series of round or drop-shaped milk-white spots, crossed by others of similar ap pearance, so as to represent in some degree the pattern of a small diadem. This spider, in the months of September and October, forms, in some convenient spot or shelter, a large round, close, or thick web, of yellow silk, in which it deposits its eggs, guarding the round web with a secondary one of a looser texture. The young are hatched in the ensuing May, the parent insects dying towards the close of Autumn. The male of this species is distinguished by having the back crossed by four or five black-brown bars. The aranea diadema being one of the largest of the common spiders, serves to exemplify some of the principal characters of the genus, in a clearer manner than most others. At the tip of the abdomen are placed five papillæ or teats, through which the insert draws its thread; and as each of these papillæ is furnished vast number of foramina or outlets, disposed over its whole it follows that what we commonly term a spider's thread is in reality formed of a collection of a great many distinct ones; the animal possessing the power of drawing out more or fewer at

*

* In some species four; and in some are two smaller papiliæ, the nature of which is doubtful.

pleasure; and if it should draw from all the foramina at once, the thread might consist of many hundred distinct filaments. The eyes, which are situated on the upper part or front of the thorax, are eight in number, placed at a small distance from each other, and having the appearance of the stemmata in the generality of insects. The faugs or piercers, with which the animal wounds its prey, are strong, curved, sharp-pointed, and each furnished on the inside, near the tip, with a small oblong hole or slit, through which is evacuated a poisonous fluid into the wound made by the point itself, these organs operating in miniature on the same principle with the fangs in poisonous serpents. The feet are of a highly curious structure; the two claws with which each is terminated being furnished on its under side with several parallel pro cesses, resembling the teeth of a comb, and enabling the animal to dispose and manage, with the utmost facility, the disposition of the threads in its web, &c.

Aranea Tarantula, or Tarantula Spider, of which so many idle recitals have been detailed in the works of the learned; and which even to this day continues, in some countries, to exercise the faith and ignorance of the vulgar, is a native of the warmer parts of Italy, and other warm European regions, and is generally found in dry and sunny plains. It is the largest of all the European spiders, and is of a brown colour, with the back of the abdomen marked by a row of trigonal black spots with whitish edges, and the legs marked beneath by black and white bars. In the present illuminated period it may be sufficient to observe, that the extraor dinary symptoms supposed to ensue from the bite of this insect, as well as their supposed cure by the power of music alone, are entirely fabulous, and are now sufficiently exploded among all rational philosophers.

Aranea nobilis is a very beautiful species, of middling size, with an orange-coloured thorax, marked by six black spots, and an oval yellow abdomen, with seven oval black spots, the first of h is situated immediately behind the thorax, while the remainde disposed into two longitudinal rows: the legs are yellow, with the last joints black. This elegant spider is a native of Samaria.

Aranea scenica is a small species, by no means uncommon during the summer months, and generally seen on walls in gardens, &c. it is of a black colour, with the abdomen marked on

each side the upper part by three white bars. This spider is one of those which spring suddenly, to some distance, on their prey.

Aranea extensa is a smallish species, of a fine green colour, ac companied by a slight silvery gloss: it is common in gardens, and is almost always seen with the legs extended, in a parallel line with the body.

Aranea lævipes is of a grey colour, varied with minute black specks, and with the legs beautifully crossed by numerous alternate black and white bars.

Aranea palustris is of a lengthened form, and of a brown co. lour, and is principally seen in damp or watery places.

Aranea aquatica is a middle-sized species, of a deep chesnutcolour, residing entirely under water, generally in very clear ponds or fountains, and forming for itself a small tissue or web confining a proper quantity of air: sometimes this species is observed to take possession of a vacant shell, in which case it closes the mouth with a slight web.

The exact distinction of species in this genus, especially among the smaller kinds, is often extremely difficult and uncertain; since the animals are sometimes differently marked during the different periods of their life: some however are in this respect perfectly constant, bearing the same distribution of colours from their first hatching to their latest period.

The gigantic Aranea avicularia, or Bird-Catching Spider, is too remarkable an insect to be passed over in silence. This enormous spider is not uncommon in many parts of the East Indies and South America; where it resides among trees, frequently seizing on small birds, which it destroys by wounding with its fangs, and afterwards sucking their blood: the slit or orifice near the tip of the fangs in spiders, through which the poisonous fluid is evacuated, and the existence of which has sometimes afforded so much matter of doubt among naturalists, is in this species so visible, that it may be distinctly perceived without the assistance of a glass.

This animal appears to admit of some varieties, differing both in size and colour; or rather, it is probable that several species, really distinct, have been often confounded in the works of naturalists under one common title.

During the early part of the last century, a project was enter. tained by a French gentleman, Monsier Bon, of Montpelier, of insti

inting a manufacture of spider's silk; and the Royal Academy, to which the scheme was proposed, appointed the ingenious Reaumur to repeat the experiments of Monsieur Bon, in order to ascertain how far the proposed plan might be carried; but, after making the proper trials, Mr. Reaumur found it to be impractica. ble, on account of the natural disposition of these animals, which is such as will by no means admit of their living peaceably toge. ther in large numbers. Mr. Reaumur also computed that 663,522 spiders would scarcely furnish a single pound of silk. Monsieur Bon however, the first projector, carried his experiments so far as to obtain two or three pair of stockings and gloves of this silk, which were of an elegant grey colour, and were presented, as samples, to the Royal Academy. It must be observed, that in this manufacture it is the silk of the egg-bags alone that can be used, being far stronger than that of the webs. Monsieur Bon collected twelve or thirteen ounces of these, and having caused them to be well cleared of dust, by properly beating with sticks, he washed them perfectly clean in warm water. After this they were laid to steep, in a large vessel, with soap, salt-petre, and gum arabic. The whole was left to boil over a gentle fire for three hours, and were afterwards again washed to get out the soap; then laid to dry for some days, after which they were carded, but with much smaller cards than ordinary. The silk is easily spun into a fine and strong thread: the difficulty being only to collect the silk. bags in sufficient quantity.

Monsieur Reaumur, among his objections, states, that the thread, notwithstanding Mr. Bon's description, is far inferior to that of the silkworm, both in lustre and strength: the thread of the spider's web, according to this author, bears a weight of only twelve grains without breaking; whereas that of the silkworm bears the weight of thirty-six.

The egg-bags used for the purpose were, probably, those of the aranea diadema, and others nearly allied to it.

We have before observed, that these insects are but ill calculated for living in society. Whenever thus stationed, they never fail to wage war with each other. The females in particular are of a dis◄ position peculiarly capricious and malignant; and it is observed that if the male happens to pay his courtship at an unfavourable moment, the female suddenly springs upon him and destroys him.