ly8 fcMToMoLoGiCAt NEWS. [June, '04 



system interchangeable in every way. The case being air- 

 tight keeps dust off the boxes and makes them doubly pest 

 proof. What stands in favor of this kind of a case more than 

 anything else is the ease with which it would permit 28 insect 

 boxes to be removed from a building at one time in case of 

 fire even if not rescued the wooden boxes would be pro- 

 tected to some extent against the fire, on the other hand they 

 could not become water soaked. 



We are indebted to Dr. Henry Skinner for this new arrival 

 in the Entomological Museum. Zoologists use, quite exten- 

 sively, a case that suggested this one, but Dr. Skinner devised 

 the frame for Schmitt boxes and the solid rimmed lid or cover 

 which requires only four clamps, two on each side, while in the 

 old case of the Zoologists there are three clamps on each side 

 and one top and bottom. The cases can be arranged and sepa- 

 rated as shown in the illustration, i.e., enough space between 

 the sides to permit the handling of the clamps ; the bottom 

 cases need only be separated from the floor by a two-inch: 

 plank which will keep the projecting edge clear of the floor ; 

 between the upper and lower row of cases another pair of 

 planks is placed to keep the upper case perfectly horizontal 

 and clear of the lower one. The case is now being adopted 

 by two institutions, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Phila- 

 delphia, and The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion, New Haven, Conn. Mr. E. Daecke uses it in his private 

 collection. 



A collection kept in this kind of a case will certainly be 

 pest proof if care is taken that no pest enters boxes that are 

 opened for examination. One case should be fitted with 

 shelves so that an insecticide can reach every part of it, this 

 should then be the quarantine station into which all new 

 material should first be placed for a sufficient length of time, 

 before it is incorporated in the pest free collection. 



In this connection we wish to introduce a new device for 

 dividing the insect boxes into columns. We are indebted to 

 Dr. W. E. Britton for this idea. The device is a wire pointed 

 and bent at both ends, and should be of the same material, 

 thickness and color of a Klaeger's black pin, No. 6. The wire 



