and bred, in comparison with butterflies—
entomology being a popular, and arachnology an
unpopular, science—may we not hope that a
species of spider will yet be found yielding silk
suitable for the manufacture of stockings, or
gloves, or thread? This discovery awaits the
successful student of all the spinning animals.

There are not merely mollusks which fasten
themselves to rocks and seaweeds by means of
cables of silken threads; there is a shell-fish
which lets itself down from floating weeds in
the ocean as the spider hangs by a thread from
the bushes in the garden. This shell-fish is the
Litiopa bombix of Keiner and of Sandors Rang.
The vast masses, large as islands, of seaweed
which float upon the steaming surface of the
tropical seas, have many strange inhabitants,
and, among them, this little-known spinning
periwinkle. Even the cable or byssus of the
mussels, and the soft supple numerous and
warm threads of the pinna, are fabrics the
manufacture of which is but imperfectly known.
The spinning apparatus of the mussel is situated
at the base of what is called the foot; the spinning
apparatus of most of the insects issues
from the lower jaw; yet the silk ducts of the
six-footed insects, called Myrmeleon, like those
of all the eight-footed group, are located at the
extremity of the abdomen. The word cocoon
is properly enough applied to bags spun by
spiders, for they are really egg-bags; but it is
not correctly used when applied to the cases
spun by insects, and into which they enclose
themselves as in hammocks, or sleeping coffins,
when passing from the state of larves to the
condition of chrysalides. Certain insects spin
tents, in which they live in common; but it
has only quite recently been proved that any
spiders can co-operate to spin either a web or
an abode. But both insects and spiders spin to
shut up the cavities into which they retire, and
to tie together the materials of which they
build dwellings. A British spider has been
seen often, and lost sight of now for a long
time, which makes a raft on which it floats
upon the surface of pools and ditches by tying
dry weeds together. The Reverend Revett
Shephard often noticed a very large spider
which was wafted about on the watery
surface of the ditches of Norfolk, upon a raft
of weeds held together by silken cords. On
spying an insect drowning in the water this
spider quitted his raft for an instant to seize
the prey, returning to it quickly to devour his
victim at his leisure. But not merely does the
raft serve the spider as a boat to float him into
the vicinity of his game; it serves him as a
screen to hide him from his enemies. Whenever
he sees any danger approaching, he retires
under his raft for safety until it is past.

Certain kinds of spiders have been known to
eat their own silk, and M. Boitard says that the
silk of their egg-bags is one of the earlier meals
of the young garden-spiders. He saw the young
of un epeire porte-croix (Epeira diadema) issue
from their cocoon, and, after devouring the
shells of their eggs, and the silk of a yellow
colour and thick loose texture of the bag,
separate and disperse. These youngsters, it would
appear, commence the business of silk weavers
on a capital of their mother's web of silk.
Many spiders, it is well known, if their webs be
often broken, will swallow them to the last thread.
An ordinary circular net of the garden-spider,
says Mr. Blackwell, of fourteen or sixteen inches
diameter, contains one hundred and twenty thousand
tiny globules of liquid gum upon the
concentric lines, and yet, when not interrupted,
the spider weaves her net and fixes her
thousands upon thousands of globules at exactly
regular distances, in less than one hour. When
seen under the microscope, and represented by
photography, the regularity with which these
adhesive globules are disposed, is scarcely less
admirable than the mathematical exactitude of
the forms of the cells of the honeycomb of the
bee.

Spiders change their skins very often.
According to the observations of Mr. Blackwell,
one of the common house-spiders (Tegenaria
civilis) changes nine times before arriving at
maturity. These changes of their integuments
are common to both sexes. They change once
in the cocoon, and eight times after quitting it.
This species is built to live four years.

As everybody has heard, spiders can live a
long time without food. This power they owe
to the fatty or adipose matter which fills the
interstices between the organs in the abdomen.
Held together with fine cellular tissue, this
adipose matter serves as a reserve of nutriment
for spiders against long fastings, like the tubers
of certain plants. A female of the species called
Thiridion quadripunctatum has been known to
exist eighteen months in a closely corked phial.

Nothing is known respecting the hearing and
smell of spiders. Taste they have, for they
choose their food; and this sense is said to
exist at the entrance of the pharynx, or opening
to the gullet. They have considerable delicacy
of touch: the sense belonging to their
legs, or their palpi, or perhaps to both. Their
eyes are simple and not compound, and they are
short-sighted. Certain species can change the
colour of their eyes, to express their emotions.
Mr. Blackwell mentions that Thomisus pallidus,
and one or two of its congeners, can, by a very
perceptible internal motion, change the colour
of the front intermediate pair of eyes from dark
red brown to pale golden yellow.

Few persons are ignorant of the peculiarities
of that structure of their feet which enable
certain flies and spiders to climb smooth
perpendicular surfaces, and walk on ceilings with
their backs downward. The papillæ or tiny
teats on their feet are arranged in the form of
brushes or scapulæ. This structure is well
exhibited by two common British species—Drassus
sericeous and Salticus senicus. The brushes
emit a viscous or adhesive secretion. Some
species have also toothed claws, with hooks for
grasping their lines, peculiarities which are well
exhibited by the larger epeiræ under the microscope.
The ciniflonidæ have combs or double