PRESERVE LEPIDOPTEROUS INSECTS. 3'.) 



light enou;i]i. T make use of steel springs wliicli aie usimI 

 in place of whalebone in corsets. The following is the process 

 of manufacture : having scraped off the i)aper and ruhhed 

 the steel quite clean with sand-pai)erj a piece about six inches 

 long is heated at the middle in the flame of" a spirit-lamp and 

 then bent into the form shown i^i fig. 5. This done, the inner 

 surfaces at " a " of figure are once more rubbed clean with 

 sand-paper and a little fluxite put upon them, then a small 

 flat piece of solder is inserted. By holding the two halves 

 firmly together with the strong pinning forceps and heating 

 the parts again in the flame, they solder well together. All 

 that remains to be done is to grind the free ends until they are 

 sharply pointed, and then a pair of forceps is complete with 

 which the smallest moth can be lifted without injuring it. 



Sundries, — A magnifying glass is indispensable and I think 

 the Coddington folding lens will do for most work. Paper 

 l)ags of various sizes, made as indicated in fig. 6, will be 

 required for placing the butterflies in after they have been 

 killed in order to bring them safely home. Such envelopes 

 are also often used for sending moths and butterflies by post; 

 but my experience is that only butterflies and moths that 

 fold their wings upright when they die should be so packed ; 

 most moths will get their wings rubbed badly when packed in 

 this way. Such moths and very small specimens are better 

 pinned after having been in the killing-bottle for abont ten 

 minutes, the pinned specimens being then fixed in the cork 

 of the killing-box. A collecting-bag, made of waterproof 

 canvas, will be found very useful for carrying all these things 

 in the field. 



Collecting in Daytime. 



Day captures will be mainly restricted to butterflies, 

 although it is true that several moths can only then be 

 obtained. Grassy places with bushes here and there will be 

 found on the whole the most satisfactory ; though glades are 

 also good hunting grounds at the right season, when the 

 flowers are within reach of the collector. However, close 

 observation will soon teach the novice which places are the 

 most promising, and he will^ in course of time, also learn that 



