MOTHS AND MOTH-CATCHERS. 385 



That man is feral, and a hunter by nature, is an obvious reflection, 

 even when we step into the shop of an entomologist, such as Cooke's, 

 in London. Nets, traps, and " fearsome gins " of all sorts and sizes 

 meet the eye. Boxes, pins, dark-lanterns, in fact an array of imple- 

 ments too numerous to mention, are there displayed, and, whether we 

 go a-hunting for game or for moths, the ingenuity of man has in- 

 vented a large quantity of apparatus, by which the result may be 

 obtained with the least exertion and the greatest certainty. Simplicity 

 here as elsewhere is, after all, to be commended. A small folding-net 

 which may be carried in the breast-pocket and afterward screwed to 

 the end of a walking-cane, a poison-bottle, and a couple of boxes which 

 may all be carried in the coat-pocket, are a sufficient outfit, and one 

 with which great results in the moth line can be reached. The box 

 for caterpillars should be of tin, and care must be exercised not to place 

 too many together, since some kinds have strong cannibalistic tenden- 

 cies and may devour each other before we get them safely home. But 

 not only by day are moths captured. They fly readily to light in the 

 evening, and the best results are obtained by spreading a bait, made 

 of beer and molasses, with a paint-brush, on the trunks of trees stand- 

 ing free. In the spring and early summer this method of catching 

 moths may be practiced with almost the certainty of taking many 

 rarities. After this means the best plan is to watch the flowers which 

 the moths frequent in the evening in search of natural sweets, and in 

 which occupation we may fatally surprise them. 



Having caught our moth in one way or another, it must be pinned 

 and set, before placing it in the cabinet. In America the long German 

 pins are used, especially manufactured for entomological purposes. 

 The moth must be pinned directly through the center of the thorax, 

 taking care to displace the scales as little as possible. Setting-boards 

 are easily made by fastening two strips of soft pine-wood upon a thin 

 board, near enough together to admit of the free passing of the body 

 of the moth between them. They must be of several sizes, to corre- 

 spond with the breadth of wing of the moths, which must be pinned 

 with the body resting in the groove and the wings lying flat upon the 

 strips. The board may be ruled across with lead-pencil, at different 

 intervals, the lines serving as a guide to get the wings straight. With 

 a bristle fastened to the end of a little stick, the front wings should be 

 carried forward until their lower margin is about parallel with the 

 hind edge of the thorax. They may be held in position by small 

 three-cornered cardboard braces till all the wings are evenly placed, 

 and then fastened down by strips of smooth paper, kept tightly in 

 place by pins above and below the wings. It takes from a few days 

 to a fortnight to properly dry the moths so that they can be placed in 

 the cabinet. 



Various and multiple are the store-boxes, implements, and "traps 11 

 of a moth-catcher. To describe them all would take a moderate-sized 

 vol. xxvii. 25 



