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BEETLES. J " > ^' 



In spite of its diminutive size, this insect is a great 

 plague to all cabinets of Natural History, and if they 

 are not well protected against it, they will all be 

 destroj^ed by it in a short time, for its larvae are able 

 to make holes through the hardest boards, and will 

 make their way unperceived into any case whatever. 

 They eat the skins of stuffed animals, and particularly 

 the internal parts of insects, of which they leave 

 nothing but the wings. Thus the most precious and 

 costly collections will be entirely destroyed by it, if 

 the necessary precautions are not taken to prevent it. 



The late General Andrew Jackson, President of 

 the United States, presented me, in 1834, with two 

 large boxes of splendid South American Beetles and 

 Butterflies, but, much to my regret, on opening 

 them I found the largest and handsomest specimens 

 destroyed by this little enemy of Naturalists. I 

 succeeded, however, in saving a large number of 

 them from entire destruction, by putting them into 

 alcohol, and by making artificial heads and bodies 

 out of cork, and then painting them and fastening 

 the wings to them with gum-arabic. 



In order, therefore, to prevent your cases of Insects 

 from being destroyed by this Cabinet-beetle, it is 

 necessary to have the lining of the boxes, whether 

 it be of cork or wax, well impregnated with spirits: 

 of turpentine, and besides this, it will be well to 



