The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-29 00:00:00

STUFFED SPIDERS OF SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA,

If there is any one feature for which Southern
California is especially noted, it is her spiders. When
it comes to a real live, energetic, ugly, vicious,
poisonous spider, says the Santa Barbara (Cal.) Inde-
pendent, Southern California can enter prize animals
at any fair. The most precious trophies the tourists
bear away from this coast are, in all probability, the
neat cards decorated with these monsters of the
insect world. Every one is familiar with the trap.
door and nest of this cunning but ugly creation, and
of which strange little habitations every adobe ranche
is full. So densely populated with these beautifully
lined tunnels are some of the sunny, quiet valleys
among the foot hills that close inspection will reveal
their almost invisible trap doors hardly a foot apart.
Yet, in spite of this, hardly a living animal will be
seen. There is a legitimate demand for prepared
specimens, both at wholesale and retail. When first
brought in by the quick-eyed, dexterous young
Spaniards who supply most of them, they are de-
prived of what life is left in their bodies by poisonous
fumes or other application of poison. After the
taxidermist has made sure they are quite dead, a
wise precaution, he cuts them open on the under-
side, and, removing the loose matter therefrom, care.
fully stuffs them with cotton. This stuffing pro-
cess is quite a delicate operation, and requires no
little knack to perform neatly and successfully
without injuring the animal and brir ging it back
to its normal shade and size. A humming-bird
would seem to be about as small an object as
could easily be put through this painstaking opera-
tion, let alone an insect even of the size of a taran-
tula. This baying been completed, the spider is
placed upon a board and properly held in position by
pins, one through the body and one in each foot,
and set in the sun to dry. The sale of them in this
city is carried on both as wholesale and retail, several.
parties here carrying on the business. The retail
price is 50 cents apiece, one merchant disposing of
many dozens a year in that way. The wholesale
operations are confined to supplying the natural
history stores of San Francisco, which establishments
pay three dole, per dozen for well prepared specimens,
the supply seeming never to crowd the demand.
Hayward and Muzzall, of this city, who have dealt
heavily in this branch of industry, have sold several
hundred in a year, and charged for them four dols.
per dozen. Several men in Los Angeles also carry
on the business, and one taxidermist in particular
has made a very remunerative occupation of the pre-
paration of cases containing nests so arranged as to
give a full view of their internal structure, and placing in
natural position tarantulas and their young. Some of
his work is very fine; one, indeed, was sold for tifty
dols, to the proprietors of a circus and menagerie, and
is doubtless now astonishing the natives in different
parts of the country. As, of course, is well known,
these spiders are found within a wide radius
west of the Rocky Mountains; but Ariz ma
and Southern California can claim the most
bounteous supply, and perhaps the biggest, ugliest
individual specimens. In spite of their great numbers
few instances occur where people have been bitten by
them, and fatal effects have never come to the knowledge
of this writer, the tarantulas generally being more
anxious than the other party to get out of the way.
Hence it is that the gteat precautions taken by fishing
and hunting parties to secure generous supplies of
medicine against tarantula bites is an unnecessary
trouble.

Overheard the other day in the train just as the
shrill whistle announcing the departure was given :
—"What species of light refreshment does that whis-
tle resemble? "—"Give it up."—" A nigh scream."
"What is the meaning of a backbiter?" asked a
gentleman at a Sunday-school examination. This
was a puzzler. It went down the claim until it came
to a simple urchin, who said, "Perhaps it is A ilea."