i84 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



why 1 do not kill the insects outrisfht in- 

 stead of merely anesthetizing them. 1 

 have found that the insects are apt to be- 

 come limp if killed outright, and this 

 would result in an unlifelike picture. 

 Furthermore, grasshoppers often turn a 

 bright red soon after they are dead, and 

 this would be recorded by the camera as 

 black. 



Chloroform is perhaps the best anes- 

 thetic to use. The simplest method of 

 administration is as follows : moisten a 

 pellet of cotton with the chloroform and 

 place it in the bottom of a small wine- 

 glass. Next drop the insect into the glass 

 and cover with a small sheet of glass. 

 This will prevent the chloroform from 

 evaporating, and complete anesthetization 

 will follow in from two to five minutes. 

 The staging of the picture should be 

 done immediately, and the exposure made, 

 before the insect has had time to recover 

 from the effects of the chloroform. 



Naturally, one of the main difficulties 

 is to get the insects to stand upright ; but 

 a little ingenuity on the part of the pho- 

 tographer will soon solve each individual 

 problem. In many cases all that is neces- 

 sary is to balance the insect agaist some 

 object, as was done with the checker- 

 players. In other cases a prop of some 

 sort will be required, and this should be 

 cleverly concealed behind the insect so 

 that it will not show in the finished 

 picture. 



In most of my pictures the foreground 

 consists of some species of moss. This 

 can be found growing in abvmdance in 

 rocky localities or in low swampy woods. 

 A great many varieties exist, so that 

 sameness in one's pictures may be avoid- 

 ed. Where btishes are needed to break 

 the monotony of the landscape, I use a 

 certain species of lichen, which srrows 

 luxuriantly in many parts of the Ignited 

 States. It is found in rocky localities, 

 and grows in dense masses many feet in 

 circumference. By carefully separating 

 a small portion from the mass an excel- 

 lent imitation of underbritsh will be ob- 

 tained. These same lichens, if separated 

 into individual growths, will be found to 

 simulate dead trees closelv, and by plac- 

 ino- these where the composition would re- 

 nuire such an item most interesting effects 

 can be procured. 



I almost invariably use a white back- 

 ground, as this seems to set off the iur- 

 sects to best advantage. A sheet of white 

 paper is well suited for this purpose, but 

 care should be taken not to employ a 

 glazed variety, as it is likely to reflect too 

 much white light into the camera and pro- 

 duce a fogging of the plate. A paper 

 with a matte surface should be used, or 

 better still, a pale blue paper, as this will 

 photograph white. For a black back- 

 ground I use a black sheet of paper such 

 as is used for the wrapping of plates and 

 papers. This gives a sufficiently dark 

 ground for all practical purposes. In case 

 an intense black backgromid is wanted, I 

 photograph against a box lined with black 

 paper, much as one would photograph 

 against the mouth of a tunnel. 



Ocassionally clouds will be found to 

 enhance the picture greatly by hiding its 

 artificiality. These may be printed-in 

 from special cloud-negatives made for 

 such a purpose. It is advisable to have 

 several dozen such negatives on hand, so 

 that a repetition of the same cloud-effect 

 may be avoided. Just how clouds are 

 printed-in we need not explain here ; any 

 booklet on enlarging will make this clear. 

 — Bv courtesv of "Photo-Era." 



Helped the Butterfly Farmer Through 

 College. 



We take pleasure in offering to the 

 reader the excellent portrait of Miss 

 Ximena McGlashan, the butterfly farmer, 

 that we here publish. Several months ago 

 we introduced Miss McGlashan herself 

 in several articles. She writes that The 

 Agassiz Association by reason of the pub- 

 licity that it gave to her butterfly farm- 

 ing helped materially in putting her 

 through college. The accompanying 

 portrait of Miss McGlashan we are able 

 to publish through the courtesy of "The 

 Inland Printer," Chicago, Illinois. In 

 response to a request Miss McGlashan 

 writes to The GuipE TO Nature as fol- 

 lows : 



"I was graduated from Stanford Uni- 

 versity in May, having paid my way 

 through college by my butterfly farming. 

 Since my graduation I have been resting 

 as much as my correspondents have per- 



