Hardwicke's science-gossip : an illustrated medium of interchange and gossip for students and lovers of nature . et or lumber-room, and thushave acquired a knowledge of its general appear-ance at least. The term alimentary system I have employed in itswidest sense, including in it all organs directly orindirectly subservient to the nourishment of theanimal—such, for instance, as the spinnerets, fromwhich are eliminated those wonderful webs in whichthe spider snares its prey. With these few words of preface, I will now pro-ceed with the immediate subject of my paper,and commence by describing w
Hardwicke's science-gossip : an illustrated medium of interchange and gossip for students and lovers of nature . et or lumber-room, and thushave acquired a knowledge of its general appear-ance at least. The term alimentary system I have employed in itswidest sense, including in it all organs directly orindirectly subservient to the nourishment of theanimal—such, for instance, as the spinnerets, fromwhich are eliminated those wonderful webs in whichthe spider snares its prey. With these few words of preface, I will now pro-ceed with the immediate subject of my paper,and commence by describing what are called the falces. The falces are a pair of jaw-like organs situ-ated immediately above the mouth; they are at- June 1,1SGS.] HAKDWICKES SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 129 taclied to the forepart of the cephalo-thorax by ajoint, and have a lateral motion like the jaws ofinsects. These organs perform somewhat thefunction of mandibles, and have in fact been socalled by some authors, but improperly, for theyform no part of the mouth. Their function is toseize and kill the prey, but they do not assist Fig. 119. Falx, with poison gland attached, a. Fang;J, Poison gland. , Fig. 120. Fang magnified, showing exit of poison Exit of duct. Each falx is composed of two parts, the base andthe fang. The base serves simply as the supportfor the cutting instrument, and has a groove on itsunder surface, into which the fang is folded downwhen not in use. The fang is hard, sharp, andsickle-shaped, and is, in the instance we areconsidering, armed with a row of thirty pointedteeth on each side, and a smaller number onthe under surface. Attached to the falces is ahighly-interestiug apparatus which is believedmaterially to assist the spider in the captureof its food. This consists of two glands, com-posed of a number of filaments, united by a mem-brane into the form of a sac ; these are situated inthe interspaces of the muscles of the cephalo-thorax, and communicate with the falces
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