COLLECTING AND PRESERVING INSECTS BANKS. 109 



by paper strips. These tablets can be purchased for a moderate 

 price.. What are known as Riker mounts are used to exhibit insects. 

 There are pasteboard boxes, having tightly fitting covers with a glass 

 top. The box is lightly filled with white cotton, the insect spread 

 out on top of it, and the glass cover put down and fastened (pinned) 

 or sealed with gummed paper. These boxes are made in various 

 sizes, and can be procured from the dealers. They are not pest- 

 proof, but insects may be kept a long time in them without any 

 trouble. Flake naphthalene may be scattered in the lower layers 

 of cotton to keep out pests. 



ARRANGEMENT OF INSECTS. 



Within the boxes or drawers insects are customarily arranged in 

 vertical columns, the larger species in three or four rows, the smaller 

 species in from six to eight rows. It is generally possible to adopt a 

 uniform width for the insects of each family; four columns in a 

 Schmitt box and six in a drawer are the usual number. Many ento- 

 mologists make no marks to indicate the edge of the column; 

 some use strips of colored paper; others make a pencil or ink mark; 

 and Doctor Britton has suggested the use of a fine wire, bent down 

 at each end. The specimens should be carefully pinned in to pre- 

 serve the alignment of each row. Some prefer to arrange the speci- 

 mens beginning with the larger ones and ending with the small 

 forms; others put them in alphabetically; but the best way is to 

 follow a catalogue or published list. Formerly four specimens were 

 considered a "set" of the species; now, most collectors wish eight 

 specimens, and collections in the museums usually run up to twenty- 

 five or more. A large series enables one to present the variations 

 and range of the species. Museums sometimes make a duplicate 

 collection of the overflow from the regular series. It is desirable to 

 leave some vacant space in each box for additional species. Where 

 the sexes are separated, the males are kept in the first row and the 

 females behind them. Each species in the collection should, if pos- 

 sible, be labeled with its generic and specific name. Some prefer 

 to phi the label to the first specimen of each species, and this is suit- 

 able for most collections. Many entomologists prefer to have a 

 small label with specific name pinned behind the series of each spe- 

 cies and a larger label with the generic name hi front of the first 

 species of the genus. Others include also order, family, subfamily, 

 and tribe labels, but an overlabeled collection detracts from the 

 specimens. Blank labels are for sale by all dealers. One should 

 not use a label larger than necessary to write legibly the name of 

 the insect. Museums sometimes purchase two copies of the various 

 catalogues and cut them up,' fastening with short pins these printed 

 labels behind each species. 



