July, '09] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 305 



700 drawers were covered, with but little loss of time either 

 in placing the paper in position or in removing it when the col- 

 lection was unpacked. The utility of the presence of the 

 paper, however, still remains to be ascertained, but, in as much 

 as it prevented a lot of crumbling putty from falling on the 

 specimens, it seems reasonable to suppose that it would also 

 have afforded some protection, if the glass in some of the 

 covers had broken. In examining and protecting in the above 

 manner all of the material in the collection, over three weeks 

 were consumed by the writer, Mr. E. L. Hettinger also kindly 

 giving some assistance. It was not until this preliminary 

 work had been completed that the packing was started. 



Six of the small-sized drawers, five of the larger ones, were 

 placed one above the other, the glass of the top drawer being 

 protected by a covering made of boards five-eighths of an 

 inch in thickness. Each one of those tiers was wrapped in 

 strong, heavy paper, securely tied, numbered, and then set 

 aside. When all of the drawers had been removed from a 

 cabinet, it was taken apart and its sections were lowered to the 

 basement, where all of the books and correspondence had al- 

 ready been taken, in order to obtain sufficient space in the room 

 to pack and store the insects. 



For each tier of drawers a durable shipping-case was used. 

 The dimensions of the box exceeded the size of the package of 

 drawers by at least four inches in every direction. This inter- 

 vening space was filled with either hand or machine picked ex- 

 celsior, care being taken to pack it neither too loosely nor too 

 tightly. In as much as the weight of the drawers would com- 

 press the excelsior to some degree and thereby lessen its util- 

 ity, a little more of the packing material was put in the bottom 

 of the box than in the top. Even though the insects were 

 packed in excelsior, jarring the shipping-case was to be avoided 

 as much as possible, and for this reason the lid was fastened 

 by means of screws. The shipping tags and the fragile-labels 

 were likewise attached to the lid before it was screwed on the 

 box. 



On account of the inconvenience of using the narrow stair- 



