INTRODUCTION. 

 What is a Spider? 



The existing state of popular knowledge, in respect to spiders, 

 is, probably, pretty correctly indicated in an answer mado to mo 

 by a friend, that " he knew oifour kinds only — the Red Spider ; 

 the Harvest Spider ; the Garden Spider ; and the Souse Spider." 

 This answer showed a very common misconception, not only 

 as to the number of species of spiders, but also as to 

 what is really a Spider; for, unluckily, the first two of 

 the little creatures mentioned are neither of them spiders, 

 sensu stricto ; on the contrary, they belong to two 

 collateral Orders; the first to the Order Acaridea (which includes 

 the cheese-mites and numberless other miscroscopic species), the 

 second to the Order Phalangidea. "Without pretending therefore 

 to enter very minutely into structure, or anatomical dotails, 

 either external or internal, many of which would bo quite out of 

 place here, it yet seems advisable to precede the descriptions of 

 our numerous Dorsetshire spiders by a short account of what is 

 a spider, and what a spider is ; so that those creatures which are 

 not really spiders, although popularly included under that name, 

 may be dismissed, for the present at least, from our minds. 

 Prejudice against Spiders. Origin of the Name Spider, 



A great deal of ignorance and misconception undoubtedly 

 prevails about spiders ; as well as very much unreasoning dislike 

 of them. Tlio dislike probably arises, in a great degree, from 

 this ignorance, and also, in somo measure, from a certain sinister 

 look that they seem, in many minds, to possess. It has been 

 suggested to mo, too, that their very name has a sinister sound 

 and appearance. So far as this may bo true, I supposo it arises 

 from thoso letters in the name which give it a kind of hissing, 

 or spiteful sound ; just as the samo letters appear to do in the word 

 wasp. But, however that may be, tho derivation of the word spider 



