COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS — BANKS. 105 



boxes are used they should be placed in a dark cabinet. There are 

 two styles of insect boxes, the small box about 10 by 12 inches 

 with a lunged cover, and the drawers about 18 by 20 inches, with 

 a removable cover and which slide into a case or cabinet. The 

 small boxes are usually stood up on one of the long edges. The 

 drawers are by far preferable for most insects, and are especially 

 useful in museums, or for large and valuable collections. Beginners 

 sometimes use empty cigar boxes, lined with pith or cork. These, 

 however, are not tight, and should be used only for temporary 

 storage of recently collected specimens. Pasteboard boxes, if kept 

 in a well-dried place, are useful for beginners, and may be pur- 

 chased cheaply from the dealers in insect supplies. The small 

 folding boxes, about 10 by 12 inches, are used by a great many 

 entomologists. 



There are several makes of these boxes, the best being the Schmitt 

 box (fig. 164), which has the top and bottom of two thin pieces cross- 

 grained so as to prevent warping. The top fits down tightly over a 

 raised ledge of the lower part. They are best made of well-seasoned 

 pine, white wood, or linden. The Schmitt box is usually 8 J by 13 

 inches, but a size 12 by 15 inches is also for sale. The bottom is lined 

 with pressed cork, or, what is better, patent cork. Sheet cork is still 

 better, if one can afford to buy the best quality. Most of the dealers 

 also make a cheaper box similar to the Schmitt box, but without a 

 double top and bottom. A metal case is now manufactured for 

 holding Schmitt boxes in a horizontal position. Each metal case holds 

 two rows of fourteen boxes, and is provided with a clasped cpver, 

 which keeps out the dust, as well as pests. The drawers are made 

 of various sizes — 18 by 23 inches is often used for Lepidoptera; 

 oihers use 16 by 20 inches. These commonly have a glass top and 

 fit into a glass case or cabinet, holding sixteen to twenty, which is 

 better if closed by doors. These drawers often have a hardwood 

 front, and the cabinets are sometimes expensive^ made so as to be 

 an ornamental piece of furniture. 



The U. S. National Museum uses a drawer 18 inches square and 2 J 

 inches deep (figs. 165, 166). The box has an inside partition inclosing a 

 space about one-fourth inch wide all around, which is filled with flake 

 naphthalene to form a poison chamber (<•/) . The sides are of mahogany 

 and the bottom is of three-ply, cross-grained veneer, and is covered 

 with patent cork (b) and fined with white paper. The cover is of glass, 

 fitting into a flat frame three-fourths inch wide with a one-fourth 

 inch tongue, which fits into the space between the inner and outer 

 boxes. A groove (g) is made in the sides of the drawers, upon which 

 they slide on a strip in the cabinet. The cabinets now being used are 

 of metal, a double tier, the lower box of thirteen the upper of twelve 



