The Common Spiders of the United States

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 these are either large and expensive works or else special papers published by scientific societies, and so little known to the public. Since publishing my papers on the New England and Canadian spiders in the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy from 1882 to 1894, I have had frequent calls for a smaller and simpler book to meet the wants of readers who, without making a special study of the subject, want to know a little about spiders in general and especially those species that they often meet with. It is hoped this book will answer the purpose and help to lessen the prejudice against spiders, and lead to a more general acquaintance with them, like the popular knowledge of birds and butterflies. The characters used in the descriptions are, as far as possible, those that can be seen without microscopic examination and without much experience in the handling of small animals. The illustrations, which show the form and markings of every species, are from my own drawings and photographs, a large part of them made new for this book.