60 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Jan., 



The genera studied and the famihes in which they are grouped are the 

 following: Lycosidse {Lycosa, Pardosa, Pirata, Ocyale), Agalenidse 

 {Tegenaria, Agalena), Dictynidse {Dictyna), Theridiidse {Theridium, 

 Teutana, Sicatoda, Linyphia), Pholcidse (Pholcus), Epeiridse (Epeira, 

 Acrosoma), Thomisidte (Xysticus), Philodromidfe {Philodromus) and 

 Drassidse (Prosthesima , Thargalia, Drassus). The Attidse were pur- 

 posely omitted, since good work has been done upon them by the 

 Peckhams. 



The method employed was to keep the smallest species in glass test- 

 tubes, the others in glass boxes of various sizes. A considerable 

 variety of the latter were made by using microscope sUdes and old 

 photographic plates from which the films had been removed. Strong 

 gummed linen was used for holding the parts together. A very con- 

 venient glass cage for observing the mating of small Lycosids is to 

 take a photographic plate 11 x 8 cm. as a base, three microscope sHdes 

 (each measuring 7.5 x 2.5 cm. or 7.5 x 4 cm.) as the walls, arranged 

 together in a triangle with their narrow diameter vertical to the base, 

 and the ends of two of the slides with just sufficient aperture be- 

 tween them to allow^ the placing of another slide as a moval^le parti- 

 tion; and finally two shdes, each 7.5x4 cm., as covers. Where the 

 edges of any two of the walls meet at an angle a strip of gummed linen 

 is pasted on, also at the angle of each wall with the floor; and by 

 gummed linen strips the glass covers are hinged to the upper edge of 

 one of the walls. Thus one can make a tight and strong cage, with 

 tw^o compartments separated by a glass partition, and each compart- 

 ment with its own hinged cover. Other cages were made rectangular 

 without movable partitions; and for the larger species, and for those 

 that make webs, large cages were made of photographic plates entirely. 

 Such cages are readily and cheaply made, and more than a hundred of 

 various sizes and forms were employed. Their advantages are obvious. 

 The whole is of glass, the linen strips which hold them together can 

 be made narrow and short and placed so as not to interfere with any 

 observation. The floor being also of glass, one has simply to hold the 

 cage over a mirror to see the spiders from underneath, and its surface 

 retains in drop-form water introduced for drinking purposes. When 

 the floor has become soiled with excrement or remains of food, the 

 gummed linen that holds it to the walls may be torn off, the floor 

 washed, then returned and gummed into position again. It is of great 

 advantage to have the floor removable in the case of species which 

 build a web in the upper part of the cage, for then it may be removed 

 and cleaned without injury to the web. For species that cannot 



