xl. INTRODUCTION. 



their genera and species. This can most conveniently he done 

 hy turning out the whole contents of the hottle into the cover of 

 a potted-meat pot, or into a saucer. The spiders should then 

 he separated and placed in the tubes by means of a pair of very 

 fine-pointed and elastic forceps, each spider being taken up by a 

 single leg ; the tube is then filled up with clean spirit, a plodgot 

 of cotton wool is placed firmly in its mouth with the forceps, 

 together with a small parchment label on which (if the label 

 be large enough) the name of the spider is written ; or else 

 a number is inserted in figures, referring to a note book 

 wherein notes of locality or habits, &c, are written. The tube 

 thus filled and stopped is then placed, in an inverted position, in 

 a larger, wide-mouthed bottle, capable of holding several species, 

 or perhaps a whole genus ; this wide-mouthed bottle is partly 

 filled with spirit, corked, or stopped with a glass stopper, and 

 has a large label outside on which the name of the genua, and 

 species, or perhaps merely the number of the tube may be placed, 

 so as to show its contents and facilitate reference. A larger 

 pair of forceps, with broad flattened points, is necessary for 

 placing the tubes in the bottle, and for taking them out when 

 the spiders are required for examination. 



Spiders preserved after the above method are certainly not 

 objects of beauty, like a collection of moths or butterflies ; for 

 though the colours and markings are usually well enough pre- 

 served the legs are often crumpled up a good deal. To the 

 " Goodness gracious" sort of naturalists they are by no means 

 acceptable. The only remark my collection elicited from one of 

 this kind was, " "What a lot of bottles ! " A little extra trouble, 

 however, in the preparation of a spider will render it worth 

 noticing even by indifferent persons. When stupified with 

 chloroform or killed by a short immersion in spirit, the spider 

 should be placed on a piece of cork fixed to a thin layer of lead i 

 a few pins at various points (not through the spider, but between 

 the legs and outside the body) will keep it in a natural position ; 

 the whole is then placed in a clean, empty jar or basin (a pre- 

 served-meat pot is one of the best receptacles I know of), 



