EASTERN UNITED STATES 43 



of the specimen to be put up. Insects put up in this way 

 may be packed in boxes and sent through the mails to 

 any distance with little danger of injury. 



When desirable to prepare specimens, not spread, for 

 the cabinet, they may be put into a jar or box having 

 two inches of wet sand in the bottom, over which a couple 

 of thicknesses of paper have been placed. By remaining 

 in such a place from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, or 

 longer if not pliable by that time, the specimens become 

 softened so that the wings may be spread the same as 

 fresh specimens. The jar or box containing the speci- 

 mens should be kept in a cool place, as otherwise the 

 insects may mould before they are relaxed enough to be 

 spread. 



Some form of a cabinet to hold the specimens after 

 they are dry is a necessity. The best form is that con- 

 sisting of a series of closed drawers, all enclosed by doors, 

 as this double enclosing insures partial immunity from 

 museum pests. Among the many patterns or styles the 

 simple is often as good as the more complicated. This 

 may consist of drawers of any desired size, with a glass 

 top set into a frame that matches tightly on to the lower 

 part. For a large cabinet the glass may be sixteen by 

 twenty inches, and the drawers one and three-fourths or 



t/ 



one and seven-eighths inches deep on the inside from the 

 bottom to the glass. As many as seventy-two of these 

 drawers may be arranged in a cabinet in three upright 

 rows, or a less number if desired. For a smaller cabinet 

 the drawers may be smaller, as, for instance, fourteen by 

 sixteen inches glass with the same depth ; and any num- 

 ber from sixteen to forty, arranged in two rows. It is 

 better to have the cabinet made of some hard wood, as 



