Preface 



the palpi of male spiders, were made by Mrs. Comstock; but 

 most of the drawings were made by Miss Anna C. Stryke. 



The chapter on the external anatomy of spiders was prepared 

 primarily to explain the terms used in the following pages; but 

 it is hoped that it will also help to bring about a greater uni- 

 formity in the terms employed by writers on the Arachnida 

 than exists at present. 



I lay aside this work, which has occupied all the time that 

 could be spared from my other duties for more than a decade, 

 with the hope that it will serve to render easier the entrance 

 into a field of study that is filled with interest and the hope 

 that it may stimulate others to carry on the study much farther 

 than 1 have been able to do. 



John Henry Comstock. 



Entomological Laboratory, 

 Cornell University, 

 March, 191 1. 



IX 



