Introduction 



While the chief object of this book is to furnish an intro- 

 duction to the study of the structure, classification, and habits 

 of spiders, it has seemed wise to include in it accounts of the near 

 relatives of spiders, of the other orders of the class Arachnida 

 to which the spiders belong. Some of these, as the harvestmen, 

 the mites, and the pseudoscorpions, are common in all parts of 

 our country, and will be observed by all students of spiders. 

 Others, as the scorpions and the whip-scorpions, abound in the 

 warmer parts of our country and will be found by those who study 

 there or who receive collections from the South. As no general 

 work treating of the North American representatives of all of the 

 orders of the Arachnida has been published, it is believed that 

 the account of them given here will be a welcome addition to 

 "The Spider Book." 



