86 JouRXAi, Xenv York Entomological Society, t^'o'- xxii. 



Mr. Davis spoke of " Some Methods of Caring for Insects " stating that 

 while in Florida he found some methodical treatment of the 5,000 insects 

 caught very necessary. He particularly recommended cigar boxes, divided 

 through the middle by an extra board to prevent the cover breaking, and 

 packed with alternate layers of paper and cotton. The paper should be about 

 as heavy as newspaper, the box should be tightly packed to obviate shifting of 

 contents, and naphthaline should be freely used to deter ants and prevent 

 mould. Such boxes, Mr. Davis said, will hold a large number of insects, the 

 papers may be used to record data of any sort ; and the boxes, when filled, may 

 be mailed home to await the collector's return. In the field this packing takes 

 less time than paper rolls, and avoids crushing the bodies and other distortions. 

 He also recommended small bottles separated by corrugated paper for alcoholic 

 specimens, the alcohol to be poured off before shipment, so the specimens 

 would be simply moist, the bottles to be filled to prevent contents moving. 

 Lepidoptera he found were best pinned in the field and grasshoppers prefer- 

 ably packed dry in cigarette boxes. Dragonflies were best preserved in 95,'^ 

 alcohol, by which treatment the natural colors were retained, but katydids 

 would change color in alcohol and travel best in a weak solution of formalde- 

 hyde, 19 parts of water to i part of commercial formaldehyde. Especial care 

 should be exercised to keep hea^•y and light-bodied insects apart, as for 

 instance dragonflies and grasshoppers. 



Mr. Davis also showed some appliances to facilitate mounting, especially 

 a board devised by Mr. Sleight for mounting small beetles on points. This was 

 as thick as the distance from pinhead to the paper triangle and provided with 

 a row of holes down each side. The beetles were laid alongside the holes, on 

 their backs, and the pins, with the paper triangle attached and tipped with 

 glue, were dropped into the holes. Mr. Wheat suggested that a groove parallel 

 with the row of holes would aid in keeping the beetle straight on the triangle 

 and avoid some becoming mounted sidewise. 



Mr. Davis also showed his method of pinning insects on thick sheets of 

 peat to prevent the legs drooping in drying, with subsequent liability of break- 

 age, and mentioned that Col. Wirt Robinson used a pasteboard box for the 

 same purpose. Other methods were shown for making mounts for Lepidoptera 

 out of cigar boxes, cotton and glass, for stretching Lepidoptera on flat boards, 

 and for keeping glass vials in boxes of the usual collection size. Also a 

 method of accommodating rapid increases in collections by putting one or 

 two specimens of each species in the first box and adding boxes for additional 

 material. In closing, Mr. Davis spoke of softening methods, recommending a 

 softening jar or box as preferable to hot water, which he found liable to 

 change colors. This led to some discussion, Mr. Angell stating that he had 

 always used cold or tepid water, with a satisfactory result after 15 or 20 

 minutes' immersion, with a final dip in alcohol to hasten drying. Mr. Schaeffer 

 objected to the resulting damage to pubescent insects. 



In discussing Mr. Davis's remarks, Dr. Osburn pointed out that alcohol 

 was unmailable and particularly in foreign countries was liable to lead to 



