8 



brought into the required position without forcing them too 

 roughly. The long German pins, made especially for the 

 purpose should be used, and setting boards of soft pine 

 wood of different sizes must be kept in readiness. Black 

 or silvered pins are the best to use. In Germany the 

 Naturalist shops sell setting boards of which the two sides 

 are fastened by moveable screws, so that they can be 

 shifted to suit the size of the insects. They are about 

 a foot long, a convenient length, with cork beneath for the pin 

 to enter. A well set Moth should have the hind edge of 

 the forewings on a line with the thorax behind, and the 

 hindwings brought up so as to leave the abdomen free. The 

 wings may be fastened by strips of glazed paper fastened 

 by pins, and the wings should be carefully brought into 

 position by a stout bristle fixed in a handle and applied 

 against the veins of the costae, so as to avoid making holes 

 in the wing itself during the operation. In this, as in all 

 pertaining to the practical side of the study, experience will 

 suggest many things to the collector, who will naturally 

 take pride and interest in having his specimens look well. 



The best months for hunting the larvae of the Hawk 

 Moths are July and August; and one of the most prolific 

 spots, a vineyard. 



Caterpillars may be prepared for the Collection in their 

 various stages to illustrate the growth of the species. For 

 this purpose they must be first killed by being placed in 

 a chloroform bottle. The dead caterpillar should then be 

 placed between two pieces of blotting paper and, by a 

 gradually encreasing pressure of the fingers, the contents of 

 the body expressed out of the anus, so that at length 

 nothing is left but the empty skin like the finger of a glove. 

 Care, by avoiding sudden and unequal pressure, must be taken 

 not to break the coloring cells of the skin ; with the best 

 of care, however, green caterpillars lose their color under 

 the operation. The empty skin is then to be fastened, by 

 the introduction of a small tube in the vent, to an india 

 rubber inhalator (such as can be had at any drug store) 

 and forcing the empty skin gently full of air, keeping it 



