PREPARATION, CARE, AND DISPLAY OF INSECTS. ',>'.}'.> 



conducting 1 his investigations. In this manner the writer carried 

 four or' five large boxes with him through the interior of Japan 

 (Plate XXIII., Fig. 2), and succeeded in bringing home with 

 him nearly six thousand specimens, dried and ready to place in 

 the cabinet. The length of time which is required for drying, 

 varies of course a little with the temperature, and the amoiint 

 of humidity in the atmosphere. In some climates it is almost 

 impossible to absolutely dry the specimens, in others they dry 

 very quickly. In the United States a week or ten days will 

 generally suffice to 

 secure that rigidity 

 which is necessaiy 

 in a cabinet speci- 

 men. 



The process of 

 drying may be has- 

 tened advaiitageous- 

 lj by placing the 

 setting-boards in a 

 cool oven. The tem- 

 perature, however, 

 should not be above 

 130 F. Some in- 

 sects lose their col- 

 or when dried, and 

 it is impossible in certain cases to retain them. In some 

 cases also the bodies of insects shrivel up very greatly and 

 become distorted. It is very often advisable in such cases to 

 make an incision into the abdomen and withdraw the viscera 

 and stuff the body with cotton. Spiders should always be 

 treated in this way, and so also the larger Mantidre and Lo- 

 cust id >. When the insects have become thoroughly dry, and 

 their wings are rigid, they may be removed from the setting- 

 board, and are now ready for the cabinet. In case, however, it 

 is desired to transport them, as is the case with specimens that 

 have been collected upon a journey, they may be pinned in 

 boxes lined with cork or pith, with their wings " shingled" as 

 in Fig. 104, and they may, if firmly secured to the bottom of the 

 box;s, be in this shape transported for long distances ; but it is 



FIG. 103. Box for Receiving Setting-Boards, a, Board partly 

 withdrawn ; b, f -shaped strip to hold board in place ; c, sliding 

 door of box ; d, tongue on edge of door working in groove at 

 f roi:t of sides. 



