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.