The Washington times., 1922-09-24

on speaking terms. This attitude they
steadfastly maintained in spite of the pro-
fessor's artful efforts to bring them to-
gether.
"Thus they remained from nine o'clock
in the morning till noon, when | left the
laboratory" he writes. However, dur
ing my absence, at least one of them
must have realized that it was lunch time.
On my return at about one o'clock p. m.
| found one of the females sitting COM
fortably on the abdomen of the other and
busily feeding on its contents. There was
no evidence of any struggle. The dead
tarantula was badly torn on the upper
surface of the abdomen, but showed no
other injury. The victor showed no evil
dence whatsoever of having been attacked.
"If we may judge from these observa-
tions there seems to be no definite fight
ing spirit. Several individuals apparently
tolerate one another till one develops
desire for food"
The tarantula goes through an annual
process of shedding its skin, which is in
terestingly described by this scientist. The
skin splits around the upper edge of the
main body in such way that the entire
top from the base of the arms that operate
the poison fangs to the base of the ab-
domen comes off like lid. The skin of
the abdomen may or may not split along
the middle of the back. The first con-
spicuous evidence of moulting is the lifting
of tho nnnar surface of tho main hoJ,,
A curious feature of the moulting is that
it proceeds practically without any visible
effect on the part of the tarantula. The
body, by rather faint pulsations, gradually
oozes out of the old skin, rising up and
moving to the left in such a manner that
by the time all the appendages and the
abdomen have been extricated from the
skin, the tarantula is seen lying on its
side and facing in the opposite direction
of the skin.
Professor Charles T. Vorhies, of the
University of Arizona, has published an
interesting report concerning the poison
Gus animals of that State. He reports
that he could find no authenticated case
of a death from tarantula bite. but in
cases he Investigated severe illness oc-
CURED, lasting two or three days and de-
preston for several weeks. 1t is possible,
however, that dirtiness and fear may have
complicated these cases.
The repulsive scorpion, which looks
something like lobster, but is really a
member of the spider family, is very COM
mon in Arizona. The scorpions sting is
in its tail. 1t stings by throwing the
slender part of the abdomen up and for
ward over the back and striking forcibly
with it, the curved spine or sting being
driven with sufficient force to make the
wound.
All spiders are more or less venomous.
and some of the smaller ones are more
formidable than the larger Professor
Vorhies found the greatest number of
wounds was caused by a small black
spider half an inch long, sometimes known
as "the black widow"
Concerning the Gila monster, Profess
sor Vorhies found that its bite was severe,
but not fatal to man, though possibly so
to a>small child. 1t killed rats made cats
temporarily voiceless and caused dogs to
weep. The monsters" venom oozes up
from between its lower teeth and is not
injected deep into wound through
hollow fang, like the poison of rattle
snake.
As to the ''hydrophobia skunk" Profess
sor Vorhies found that several authen-
ticated cases Of death from skunk bite had
occurred in Arizona. While it is certain
that a skunk cannot develop hydrophobia
spontaneously, as ignorant men believe,
it may become infected during an cpl
demic among dogs. It also has a ten
dency to bite men while they are asleep.