Vol. XXlv] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. II 



gauges. The nadeln (I use the American Entomological Co.'s 

 No. 216) are first arranged in a flat bottom tubular vial, whose 

 diameter is less than the length of a nadel, with their points up. 

 This can be done any time, and is to me the most tedious part 

 of the entire proceedings. I throw two or three hundred upon a 

 piece of white cardboard, which at once shows up the pointed 

 ends, and with a pair of fine tweezers I pick each one up and 

 drop it into the vial with its point up. The standard pin is No. 2, 

 steel or hard brass, 39 millimeters long. The foregoing opera- 

 tions are all preparatory and can be done in sufficient quantities 

 to take care of the season's collecting. Preparatory to the act- 

 ual mounting a goodly number of slips must be pierced through 

 one end by a nadel. Any quantity of these may be prepared, 

 and are best arranged in series, sticking in a sheet of cork 

 or pith. The nadeln are gotten out of the vial by inverting the 

 latter against the thumb of the left hand and pinching a few 

 of the nadeln between the thumb and index finger, and with 

 the forceps each nadel is taken and stuck in a sheet of cork. 

 After a goodly number are thus treated they are then pierced 

 through the slips, and these are arranged as above suggested, 

 thus completing all the operations preparatory to the actual 

 mounting. The following equipment will be found necessary 

 for rapid work; a pair of pinning forceps, a low power (i l / 2 

 inch focus) watchmaker's eye lens with spring, a gauge, for 

 making the slips of uniform height on the supporting pin (22 

 millimeters up from the point), and a sheet of white bristol 

 board or blotting-paper. 



The insects to be mounted are thrown, a few at a time, 

 upon the white bristol board, a nadel with its accompanying 

 slip is picked up with the forceps, and, with the aid of the 

 magnifying glass, pierced through the side of the thorax, pref- 

 erably the left side. A click will be heard as the nadel is pull- 

 ed up, thus indicating that the point has passed through the 

 thorax. Then, with the aid of the other hand, invert the slip 

 and grasp the same with the forceps at the nadel end and pass 

 a standard pin through the other end in the opposite direc- 



