rious a
nature, that wherever it creeps over a beast, be it horse, cow, or
sheep, the suffering animal is afflicted with cruel anguish and
threatened with the loss of the use of the limb. Against this
accident, to which they were continually liable, our provident
forefathers always kept a shrew ash at hand which, when once
medicated, would maintain its virtue for ever. A shrew ash was made
thus: into the body of the tree a deep hole was bored with an auger,
and a poor devoted shrew-mouse was thrust in alive, and plugged in,
no doubt with several quaint incantations long since forgotten." It is
marvellous how people could ever have believed such stuff; but equal
absurdities are still accepted by many people to this very day; so
strong a hold on men's minds have the kindred vices of superstition
and ignorance.

Look at these spiders' webs on this hawthorn hedge, they are formed of
delicate silken threads, and are of a long funnel shape; the spider
occupies the bottom part and soon rushes up should any insect get into
the trap, and quickly rushes down and escapes at the back door if your
hand enters the front. The top of the funnel is spread out into large
broad sheets, and the whole snare is attached by silken cords to the
twigs of the bushes. This is the snare and residence of a good-sized
species, the _Agelena labyrinthica_. Such webs are common on hedges,
on grass, heath, and gorse. Now you must distinguish between spiders'
nests and spiders' snares. The very common wheel-like webs, which you
see abundantly on hedges, are snares or traps for insects, and
beautiful they look on a dewy morning all strung with liquid pearls.
Here under this oak are a number of old acorn-cups of last autumn's
produce; the acorns have fallen out and the black cups remain. Do you
see a delicate spider's web filling this cup; inside are a quantity of
tiny round eggs, and a small spider is keeping guard within; this is a
spider's nest. Many spiders spin cocoons for their little round eggs,
place them in various situations, and leave them; others show the
greatest care for them and carry them about wherever they go. The
cocoons of the species whose web or trap we are now looking at are
made of strong white silk, each cocoon containing perhaps 100 round
eggs, rather yellowish in colour. They are fastened to the inside of a
web the spider spins by means of silken pillars formed by a number of
threads closely glued together. The sac containing th