284 KILLING LKPIDOPTEKA. 



left hand cleverly under the wings at the thorax, and so "get round" them, 

 and press them straight back, or rather up, the right hand holding the insect 

 firm by a pin through the thorax, and you will either hear, or if I may so 

 say, feel a crack of the muscles, after which all is right and plain sailing. 

 Even without this, putting the motli3 into the relaxing-box for a night, for 

 the "cold water cure," will often do much towards a remedy. 



Like Mr. Crewe, "I have collected insects for some years," in fact for the 

 greater part of my life, and "I have no hesitation whatever in giving it as 

 my own firm opinion," that chloroform, "take it for all in all," is by far the 

 readiest, best, and most humane, method of killing insects. 



As to their coming to life again, after being put into the chloroform bottle, 

 here again Mr. Crewe is totally wrong, and in fact proves himself to be 

 wrong, for the rigidity he speaks of, is the sign and proof of death, with 

 which I opine their coming to life again is somewhat incompatible, if you leave 

 the moth in the chloroform bottle for a quarter of an hour. 



I say nothing of chloroform and water, with which no doubt Mr. Crewe 

 has been imposed upon; but with good chloroform, take my word for it, the 

 insect will never come to life again, not only not nine times out of ten, but 

 not one time. If not rigid, it is because it is not dead, and if not dead, it is 

 because the chloroform has not been good; but if the chloroform be good, 

 the moth succumbs at once, is almost instantaneously rendered insensible, and 

 if left in that state of coma for the brief space of time I have spoken of, 

 will never flutter or fly again. 



As to the alleged superiority of the spirit of ammonia, why, Mr. Crewe 

 himself allows, that in order to secure the death of the insect, you must 

 leave it exposed to its fumes for half an hour; and he confesses, moreover, 

 that so "few" ! ! as twenty-six species are injured in their colours, (not so 

 with chloroform,) by the use of the ammonia, to which I doubt not many 

 others might be added; at all events I know this, that "villainous" brimstone, 

 which in like manner destroys the colours of the green moths, destroys also 

 those of some if not all of the brown ones, turning them to a yellowish 

 tint, as e. g. Eubolia rnensuraria, and so I conclude, by parity of reasoning, 

 it probably is with ammonia. "As at present advised," I feel disposed to 

 say "I'll hare none of it." Commend me to the chloroform, and I re-commend 

 "Willie," and all others "whom it may concern," not to be led away from 

 following the wholesome advice I gave him, by any fear of "coming to grief," 

 which I much misgive me he "Will" if he is so "green" himself as to use the 

 ammonia, either for the "greens" or for any other insects, in preference to 

 honest good chloroform. As I told Mr. Crewe in my note, his advice is 

 calculated seriously to mislead, and so I now tell my readers. 



As to oxalic acid, it no doubt is a deadly poison; I should be very sorry 

 to take a dose of it; but some moths have "nine lives," and nothing so 

 good as chloroform for their destruction. This very summer I had two 

 huge Canadian moths in chrysalis here, namely, Hyalophora cecropia, which in 

 due time came out; measuring all but seven inches across the wings. I 

 killed them with oxalic acid, but one of them, when I at first thought it 

 was dead, was not, but came to life again. 



