The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



by the corresponding portion of the wing of another specimen of 

 the same sex of the same species in such a way as almost to defy 

 detection. The prime requisites for this work are patience, a 

 steady hand, a good eye, a great deal of " gumption," a few set- 

 ting-needles, a jewelers forceps, and a little shellac dissolved in 

 alcohol. The shellac used in replacing a missing antenna should 

 be of a thickish consistency; in repairing wings it should be well 

 thinned down with alcohol. In handling broken antennae it is 

 best to use a fine sable pencil, which may be moistened very 

 lightly by applying it to the tip of the tongue. With this it is 

 possible to pick up a loose antenna and place it wherever it is de- 

 sired. Apply the shellac to the torn edges of a broken wing with 

 great delicacy of touch and in very small quantity. Avoid put- 

 ting on the adhesive material in "gobs and slathers." Repairing 

 is a fine art, which is only learned after some patient experimen- 

 tation, and is only to be practised when absolutely necessary. 

 The habit of some dealers of patching up broken specimens with 

 parts taken from other species is highly to be reprobated. Such 

 specimens are more or less caricatures of the real thing, and no 

 truly scientific man will admit such scarecrows into his collection, 

 except under dire compulsion. 



Packing and Forwarding Specimens.— It often becomes neces- 

 sary to forward specimens from one place to another. If it is in- 

 tended to ship specimens which have been mounted upon pins 

 they should be securely pinned in a box lined with cork. A great 

 many expanded specimens may be pinned 

 in a box by resorting to the method known 

 as "shingling," which is illustrated in Fig. 73. 

 By causing the wings of specimens to over- 

 lap, as is shown in the figure, a great many 

 can be accommodated in a small space. 

 When the specimens have been packed the 

 box should be securely closed, its edges shut 

 with paper, after some drops of chloroform 

 have been poured into the box, and then this 

 box should be placed in an outer box con- 

 taining excelsior, hay, cotton, or loose shav- 

 ings in sufficient abundance to prevent the 

 jarring of the inner box and consequent breakage. Where speci 

 mens are forwarded in envelopes, having been collected in th 



55 



Fig. 73. — Butterflies 

 pinned into a box over- 

 lapping one another, or 

 "shingled." 



