The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



eighth of an inch thick, glued together in such a way that the 

 grain of the two pieces crosses at right angles, and all crack- 

 ing and warping are thus prevented. The lids are secured to 

 the bottoms by brass hooks fitting into eyelets. Such boxes 

 provided with cork do not cost more than fifty-five cents apiece 

 when bought in quantities. Boxes may be made of stout paste- 

 board about one eighth or three sixteenths of an inch thick, with 

 a rabbet-tongue on the inside. Such boxes are much used in 

 France and England, and when well and substantially made are 

 most excellent. They may be obtained for about thirty-five cents 

 apiece lined with compressed cork. 



Cabinets and Drawers. — Largo, collections which are intended 

 to be frequently consulted are best preserved in cabinets fitted 

 with glass-covered drawers. A great deal of variety exists in the 

 plans which are adopted for the display of specimens in cabinets. 

 Much depends upon the taste and the financial ability of the col- 

 lector. Large sums of money may be expended upon cabinets, 

 but the main thing is to secure the specimens from dust, mould, 

 and insect pests. The point to be observed most carefully is so 

 to arrange the drawers that they are, like the boxes, practically 

 air-tight. The writer employs as the standard size for the draw- 

 ers in his own collection and in the Carnegie Museum a drawer 

 which is twenty-two inches long, sixteen inches wide, and two 

 inches deep (inside measurement). The outside dimensions are: 

 length, twenty-three inches exclusive of face; breadth, seventeen 

 inches ; height, two and three eighths inches. The covers are glazed 

 with double-strength glass. They are held upon the bottoms by a 

 rabbet placed inside of the bottom and nearly reaching the lower 

 surface of the glass on the cover when closed. The drawers are 

 lined upon the bottom with cork five sixteenths of an inch thick, 

 and are papered on the bottom and sides with good linen paper, 

 which does not easily become discolored. Each drawer is faced 

 with cherry and has a knob. These drawers are arranged in 

 cabinets built in sections for convenience in handling. The two 

 lower sections each contain thirty drawers, the upper section nine. 

 The drawers are arranged in three perpendicular series and are 

 made interchangeable, so that any drawer will fit into any place in 

 any one of the cabinets. This is very necessary, as it admits of 

 the easy rearrangement of collections. On the sides of each drawer 

 a pocket is cut on the inner surface, which communicates through 



50 



