GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AND STRUCTURE. 31 



desired position. A note to identify the species may be scratched upon 

 this paper guidon. A cotton string will answer the same purpose in a 

 small field of observation. Another method is to puncture a leaf with a 

 pencil point, making a letter, figure, or symbol. The holes leave a dry 

 border which easily identifies a particular .spot for many days. 



Larger boxes should be placed in the satchel to be used for collecting 

 cocoons and nests. The nests are often difficult to preserve, but some of 

 them are so beautiful that they are well wortli the effort. I 

 a ing usually take special boxes for this purpose, or when not so pro- 

 vided, carry the nests free in my hand, or wrapped in little paper 

 bags. Cotton should always be kept in the satchel, and when the nests are 

 taken they should be carefully filled in with the cotton wool until the 

 natural proportions are fully marked out. Of course, the leaves will 

 rapidly dry up and wither and the nests will lose their form unless this 

 jirecaution be taken. 



In collecting sj^ider nests, it will nearly always be necessary to cut away 

 carefully a part of the adjoining foliage, in order to prevent the collaiise 

 of the whole when the supporting lines are cut. It is better 

 to fill a nest with cotton before it is cut away from its site, ^%'"*ijr^ 

 or immediately thereafter. Tissue paper or even crushed f^ff^l 

 leaves will answer where cotton is wanting. Pf^^T^'^'f^ 



An ordinary pocket rule, a strong knife with a good, big L j J ,','( 

 blade for taking out ground spiders, should also go into the a-|Bjfe>gj^f 

 hand bag. Pencils, several of them, for one is apt to lose a "N^^^^^ 

 pencil in the excitement of collecting unless it be tied to the fig. 19. a paper 

 neck or button ; a hand lens for the satchel, and two or icTpedmras^"^ 

 three others to carry in the pockets, are almost necessary. A 

 good objective may be carried in a vest pocket, and will give one an 

 opportunity for rough microscopic observations while he is afield. Provide 

 also a pair of shears for clipping off twigs and branches ; and a few elastic 

 bands for fastening the boxes wiiose covers are a little loose. 



For one who wishes to collect spiders without particularly observing 



the habits, a glass bottle or good sized glass tube filled with alcohol, is 



the chief requisite. If one is collecting Orbweavers or Line- 



Cabmet -(leavers, by placing the open bottle beneath the spider and 



^^^^' gently touching the creature, it will frequently drop into the 



alcohol, or the bottle can be placed rapidly beneath the spider, 



and with the sudden impulse to drop which is characteristic of it, it will 



fall directly into the alcohol. A cyanide bottle, such as is used l>y collectors 



of Lepidoptera may be used instead of alcohol. 



After the spiders have been collected in the bottle, they may be assorted 

 and placed in separate tubes. No special method of mounting spiders can 

 be satisfactorily recommended. I have found nothing better for my own 

 purposes than glass bottles, well corked, with a bit of paper inside to 



