242 



HARDVVICKE'S SCI EN CE-GO S SIP. 



their roots, and pin it below the lower wing. A 

 similar strip is then applied to the opposite side, 

 and then another pair external to these to hold the 

 tip of the wings down. If the specimen is a very 

 large one, it will require a third set. (See fig. 171.) 



Fig. 171. Mode of setting out Lepidoptera on level boar d . 



This seems to me a much easier, quicker, and 

 more definite way of setting than that usually 

 adopted, and the specimen is rendered more worthy 

 of the cabinet. 



With regard to the butterfly-net, I have often 

 seen them represented in diagrams as fastened on 

 to the end of a walking-stick. Now a walking- 

 stick with a net at the end of it is of no use what- 

 ever. The net which I used was 1^ ft. in diameter, 

 and 3 ft. long, and was at the end of a stick 7 ft. 

 long ; it was not heavy, and not at all inconvenient, 

 and if properly handled could be rendered short or 

 long as required. I always had a bag at my side 

 with a strap over my right shoulder : in this bag were 

 forty or 'fifty different-sized card-boxes, and when- 

 ever I caught a moth in the net, having thrown the 

 net over the top of the hoop, I cautiously passed 

 the open box into the net, and over the moth ; I 

 then passed the lid in between the net and the box 

 until I could shut it and inclose the moth; then 

 making the special mark for the day on the box-lid 

 with a pencil, so as to distinguish it from those 

 which were empty, I put it into the bag again. 



The butterflies were killed with a squeeze when 

 caught, and pinned and placed in a corked box. I 

 carried my insect-pius in a flat pincushion fastened 

 to the buttonhole of my coat, so as to be always 

 ready at hand. 



I found that bush-beating with a long stick was 

 very profitable, especially on a dull day, and I 

 always took a boy with me for that purpose, who 

 walked about eight yards in front of me. 



On reaching home, I set the butterflies first, 

 before their wings began to get stiff; and then 

 administered chloroform to the moths in the boxes 

 one by one. I [was surprised to find how much 

 chloroform some moths, even of very small size, 

 could take, and yet come round after it. In the 

 case of larger ones, such as the Death's-head Moth 



{Acherontia atropos), and the Sphingidse, having 

 chloroformed them, I gave them a thrust under the 

 thorax ^ith the point of a penknife dipped in 

 prussic acid. 

 Albion Place, Leeds. F. E. A. 



NEW BOOKS.* 



'T^HE publishers' lists, as well as the falling 

 -*' leaves and the sharp nights, inform us that 

 winter is nigh at hand. And, as will be seen from 

 our catalogue below, the cheerful fire need not be 

 without cheerful companionsliip. Those who are 

 fond of following up the results of theoretical 

 investigation into the world of practice, and of be- 

 holding the real greatness which ensues to a nation 

 thus alive to the importance of science, cannot be 

 otherwise than interested in Mr. Simmonds's book. 

 It is not too much to say that no other Englishman 

 could have written it, inasmuch as it is doubtful 

 if there be another so well "up "in commercial 

 science. Tlie subjects discussed in this book of 

 upwards of six hundred pages are of the highest 

 importance, and include a thorough and detailed 

 account of the mineral and auimal substances 

 entering into commerce ; the cotton and woollen 

 manufactures; the silk trade; glass, earthenware, 

 precious metals, iron, paper, leather, groceries, &c., 

 having separate chapters also devoted to them. 

 "VVTien we remark that the statistics so copiously 

 given are the most recent, and from the highest 

 authoritative sources, and that all the latest appli- 

 cations of scientific discoveries are fully entered 

 into, and all the multitudinous questions discussed, 

 our readers may form some idea of the genuine prac- 

 tical character of the book. It is clearly printed, 

 nicely got up, and written in a plain and popular 

 style. 



It is always a sincere pleasure to lis to recom- 

 mend works to our numerous readers, that are 

 equally pleasant and profitable, and never did we 

 more sincerely than in introducing Canon Kingsley's 

 and Professor Nicholson's books. The members of 

 the Chester Natural History Society are indeed 

 fortunate, for Canon Kingsley's is not the first book 

 we have had the pleasure of noticing which ori- 

 ginally made its appearance before them. As a 

 popular and pleasing writer on natural science, we 



* " Science and Commerce : their Influence on our Manu- 

 factures." By P. L. Simmonds. London: Hardvvicke. 



" Town Geology." By the Rev. Canon Kingsley, F.L.S., 

 &c. London : Strahan & Co. 



" Introduction to Biology." By Professor H. A. Nicholson. 

 London and Edinburgli : William Blackwood & Sons. 



"The Vegetable World." By Louis Figuier. London : 

 Cassell & Co. 



" Ilalf-Hours by the Seaside." By J. E. Taylor, F.G.S. 

 London : Hardvv'icke. 



