INSECT LIFE. 



rated so that they shall not be glued together (Fig. 



276). If a number is put near one corner on both the 



cover and the lower 

 part of the box (Fig. 

 277) it will be easy to 

 determine how the case 



FIG. 277. An insect case. , , , 



should be put together 



after being opened, and thus insure a fit of the two 

 parts. This will also obviate the danger of putting 

 the wrong cover on a case when several of them 

 have been opened at once. 



The bottom should be made of well-seasoned, soft, 

 nonresinous wood. If the wood is not well seasoned 

 it will shrink and make a crack through which pests 

 will enter. It should be soft so that pins can be eas- 

 ily inserted in it if it is not lined with cork, and non- 

 resinous, as resinous wood will injuriously affect the 

 specimens, and is liable to become unsightly from the 

 exudation of resin. For this reason pine is unsuit- 

 able, but basswood is excellent. 



It is important that the cases be made of uniform 

 size, so that they may be stored as drawers in a cabi- 

 net, or between two upright boards upon which 

 cleats have been nailed three inches apart (Fig. 278). 

 A convenient size is twelve inches and a half by fif- 

 teen inches and a half. This admits of the use of glass 

 which measures twelve inches by fifteen inches, a 

 common size of window glass. This is a smaller size 

 than is ordinarily used by those having large collec- 

 tions of insects. But cases of this size will be more 

 convenient for young pupils to handle than larger 

 ones. A larger case is described below as the college 

 insect case. 



