228 ENTOMOLOGY. 



should be stout, the blades blunt and curved at the end 

 so that the insects can be pinned without slanting the 

 forceps much. The ends need to be broad and finely in- 

 dented by lines so as to hold the pin firmly. With a 

 little practice the forceps soon take the place of the fingers. 

 Some persons use the ordinary form of pliers with curved 

 handles, but they should be long and slender. A spring 

 set in to separate the handles when not grasped by the hand 

 is a great convenience. 



Various pill-boxes, vials, and bottles must always be 

 taken, some containing alcohol or whiskey. Many col- 

 lectors use a wide-mouthed bottle, containing a sponge 

 saturated with ether, chloroform, or benzine, or bruised 

 laurel-leaves, the latter being pounded with a hammer and 

 then cut with scissors into small pieces, which give out ex- 

 halations of prussic acid strong enough to kill most small 

 insects. 



Besides these the collector needs a small box lined with 

 corn-pith or cork, and small enough to slip into the coat- 

 pocket; or a larger box carried by a strap. Most moths 

 and small flies can be pinned alive without being pinched 

 (which injures their shape and rubs off the scales and hairs), 

 and then killed by pouring a little benzine into the bottom 

 of the box. 



Killing Insects for the Cabinet. Care in killing affects 

 very sensibly the looks of the cabinet. If hastily killed and 

 distorted by being pinched, with the scales rubbed off and 

 otherwise mangled, the value of such a specimen is dimin- 

 ished either for study or the neat appearance of the col- 

 lection. 



Besides the vapor of ether, chloroform, and benzine, the 

 fumes of sulphur readily kill insects. Large specimens 

 may be killed by inserting a pin dipped in a strong solu- 

 tion of oxalic acid. An excellent collecting-bottle is made 

 by putting into a wide-mouthed bottle two or three small 

 pieces of cyanide of potassium, which may be covered with 

 cotton, about half-filling the bottle. The cotton may be 



