THE SPIDERS OF EPPING FOREST.
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III.—PRACTICAL WORK.
Collection of specimens. The apparatus required for the
capture of the Araneae is of a most unassuming and inexpensive
type. An old umbrella should be obtained, and when the district
to be visited does not offer facilities for cutting hedge-stakes a
stout walking-stick must also be provided. A wide-mouthed,
securely corked bottle of methylated spirit will be required, a
few dry specimen tubes, a pair of tweezers, a note book, a news-
paper and some strong tool which can be employed either for
digging or for removing loose bark from tree-trunks. Every
likely and unlikely situation should be systematically examined,
and it must be remembered that many species will often be
discovered under most unexpected conditions. Brick-bats, stones
and boards which have lain undisturbed for some time should be
carefully inverted and examined, also the holes in decayed tree
trunks. Trees, bushes and tall herbage should be beaten or
shaken above the umbrella, and grass and low growing plants
pulled up and disintegrated over the newspaper. It is most
important to recollect that the spiders thus obtained should be
handled as little as possible. The neatest method is to hustle
the specimen into a dry tube held in the left hand by means of the
fingers of the right hand and thence transfer to the spirit bottle,
Extremely minute species may be picked up by a wetted finger.
The jumping spiders are, without doubt, the most difficult to
capture, for beside the fact of their rapid and erratic movements,
their bodies are often ornamented with easily-detached scales
upon whose presence much of the value and beauty of a specimen
depends,
Examination of Specimens. The method of examination of
spirit preserved spiders is of great importance, and I therefore
append a few hints.
A compound microscope must be regarded as a necessity,
but a simple and inexpensive stand will meet all requirements.
With regard to objectives a 2-inch, 1-inch and 1/2-inch will be
found amply sufficient for all ordinary work. A rather low-
power eyepiece should be selected, and a good stand-condenser
will be necessary. Armed with this very modest array of optical
accessories we may proceed to examine a specimen with a view
to determining its identity. A small china saucer should be
procured—the top of a pomade pot is all that can be desired—