332 TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



draw out the wings in the position which they aro to maintain 

 when the specimen is thoroughly dry. This is accomplished 

 by means of what are known as " setting-needles " (see Fig. 102). 



They can easily be made 

 by inserting ordinary nee- 



FIG. io2.-Settin g -Needie. dles into handles, which 



may be made of some soft 



wood. The writer generally employs as handles for his setting- 

 needles matches, from which the sulphur tip has been removed. 

 In drawing the wings into position care should be taken to plant 

 the setting-needle immediately behind the strong nervurc of the 

 costal margin of the wing. Otherwise tho wings are likely to be 

 torn and disfigured. The rule in setting lepidoptera is to draw 

 the anterior wings forward in such a way that their posterior mar- 

 gins form a right angle with the a::is of the body, which rests in 

 the groove in the middle of the setting-board. The posterior 

 wings are then drawn forward in such a w T ay as fully to expose 

 their outline. The next step is to firmly fix the wings in position, 

 as they have been placed. Some writers recommend for this pur- 

 pose using short strips of paper over the wings, others recom- 

 mend placing upon the wings pieces of glass, of a size suf- 

 ficient to cover the entire wing. A far better plan is to employ 

 strips of tracing muslin, such as is used by draughtsmen and 

 engineers. These strips may be secured at the ends of the 

 setting-board by thumb-tacks, and may be drawn down over the 

 wings of the specimen and securely held by pins in place. Care 

 should be always taken to nicely turn up the edge of the strips 

 nearest to the body, so that a crease or depression may not be 

 left upon the scales covering the wings of the insects when the 

 specimen has been thoroughly dried. The wings having been 

 arranged, the antennae and the feet may be brought forward and 

 displayed in a natural position. Care should be always taken to 

 lower the antennae so that they do not stand erect above the head. 

 In the latter position they are very apt to become broken. A 

 number of such boards may be conveniently arranged in a box, as 

 shown in Fig. 103, and if strips of muslin are used, and are firmly 

 held in place by pins, such a box may be transported from place 

 to place, upon the backs of men or beasts, and the process of 

 drying the insects may go on en route, while the naturalist is 



