\9 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX. 



while on a holiday in the hill-stations that most collectors will finu 

 sufficient leisnre to devote themselves to their hobby. 



Mr. Young wrote a supplementary paper to the present series 

 entitled " First Hints on Collecting Butterflies", which will be found 

 at page 114 of Vol. XVII, Part 1 of this Journal, in which he tells 

 how to catch, kill and set the insects in question. Further remarks 

 may be of interest. The length of the net handle recommended by 

 Mr. Young is that of an ordinary walking stick or less. It has been 

 found, however, that it is best to have the handle as long as possible, 

 and the net with as large an aperture as possible, say a 6' handle and 

 an aperture of 1*75'. The longer the handle and the larger the net 

 opening, the greater is the chance of catching an insect. These large 

 nets must be kept ready-made all in one piece (a bamboo handle and 

 cane ring is best) and therein lies their disadvantage as few people 

 like parading such instruments in the public thoroughfares. They 

 are however by far the best nets and none of the trade nets come up 

 to them in lightness. They can be made by a carpenter and darzi 

 for a couple of rupees each. These large nets will be too big to use 

 in undergrowth and confined spaces. A very handy instrument for 

 this purpose may be manufactured out of an old badminton-racket by 

 cutting av/ay all the gut and attaching the muslin or leno bag. 

 Equipped with two nets, a small and a large one of the above descrip- 

 tion, the collector will find himself ready for all emergencies. 



The ordinary way of killing a butterfly is to pinch the thorax or 

 chest between the finger and thumb firmly and gently while in the 

 net : even the smallest and most delicate species can be disposed of in 

 this way with practice and a little care. The best way of carrying 

 the insects about in the field is to pin each one sideways, with the 

 wings closed, into a cork-lined tin box which has been damped before- 

 hand with water to prevent stifi'ness and desiccation from the dryness 

 and heat of the Indian climate. The thinnest pins procurable should 

 be used for this purpose ; the boxes can be obtained at most of the 

 " Universal Providers," such as the Army and Navy Stores or Treacher 

 & Co. in Bombay. If an insect is not killed at once it will most infalli- 

 bly flutter and damage itself before home is reached (Mr. Young 

 recommends putting the small butterflies alive into chip pill-boxes. 

 Do not ! ) If no tin box is to be had, the most efficacious way of 

 keeping specimens is to " paper " them, i. e., take an oblong piece of 



