See Transcriber's Notes at end of index.
The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
By JAMES H. EMERTON
Boston, U.S.A., and London
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
The Athenæum Press
Entered at Stationers' Hall
Copyright, 1902, by
JAMES H. EMERTON
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
24.12
There are few books on the American spiders, and theseare either large and expensive works or else special paperspublished by scientific societies, and so little known to thepublic. Since publishing my papers on the New England andCanadian spiders in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academyfrom 1882 to 1894, I have had frequent calls for a smallerand simpler book to meet the wants of readers who, withoutmaking a special study of the subject, want to know a littleabout spiders in general and especially those species that theyoften meet with. It is hoped this book will answer the purposeand help to lessen the prejudice against spiders, and leadto a more general acquaintance with them, like the popularknowledge of birds and butterflies. The characters used inthe descriptions are, as far as possible, those that can be seenwithout microscopic examination and without much experiencein the handling of small animals. The illustrations, which showthe form and markings of every species, are from my owndrawings and photographs, a large part of them made newfor this book.
J. H. EMERTON.
April, 1902.