The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



wire into the proper form. When the ends have been inserted 

 into the ferrule, melted solder or lead may be poured into it, and 

 the ends of the wire forming the ring will be thus firmly secured 

 in the ferrule. The ferrule can then be inserted into its mate 

 placed at the end of a bamboo rod. I have commonly ob- 

 tained for this purpose the last joint or butt of a fishing-rod as 

 the handle of a net. Such a handle can often be purchased 

 for a small sum from a dealer in fishing-rods. It can be made 

 very cheaply. Any kind of a stick, if not too heavy, will do. It is 

 sometimes convenient to have it in your power to lengthen the 

 handle of your net so as to reach objects that are at some elevation 

 above the head, and for this purpose I have had nets made with 

 handles capable of being lengthened by jointed extensions. In 

 collecting in tropical countries, among tall shrubbery and under- 

 growth, nets thus made, capable of having their handles greatly 

 lengthened, have often proved serviceable. One of the most 

 successful collectors I have ever had in my employment made 

 his net by simply bending a piece of bamboo into the form 

 of the frame of an Indian snow-shoe, to which he attached a 

 handle about a foot and a half in length, and to this he affixed 

 a bag of netting. He was, however, a Japanese, and possessed a 

 singular dexterity in the capture of specimens with this simple 

 apparatus to which I myself never attained. When tarletan can- 

 not be had, ordinary mosquito-netting will do as the material for 

 the bag. It is, however, too coarse in the mesh for many delicate 

 and minute species. Very fine netting for the manufacture of the 

 bags is made in Switzerland, and can be obtained from reputable 

 dealers. 



In order to protect and preserve the net, it is well to bind it 

 with some thin muslin at the point where it is joined to the ring. 

 Nets are sometimes made with a strip of muslin, about two inches 

 wide, attached to the entire circumference of the ring, and to this 

 strip of muslin the bag is sewed. For my part, I prefer gray or 

 green as the color for a net. White should be avoided, as ex- 

 perience shows that a white net will often alarm an insect when 

 a net of darker material will not cause it to fly before the collector 

 is ready to bring the net down over the spot where it is settled. 



Collecting-Jars. — In killing insects various methods have been 

 used. In practice the most approved method is to employ a jar 

 charged with cyanide of potash or with carbonate of ammonia. 



2$ 



