COLLECTING, PEESERVING AND APPLIANCES 25 



(2) Card discs — cut from rather thin cardboard by means 

 of a 16 or 20 bore gun-punch, on a thick plate of lead. 



(8) A small jflat piece of cork, covered with white paper, 

 on which to place the insects while pinning them. 



(4) Ordinary toilet pins of medium size. 



(5) An insect box. — Any small wooden box, not less 

 than l^in. deep, may be utilised for the purpose by covering 

 the inside of the bottom with a sheet of " cork carpet," 

 cork, or solah pith. If intended for transmission by post, 

 they must be very strongly made, and provided this be 

 attended to there is not the least need for enclosing them 

 in an outer box. Those I use are made of wood at least a 

 third of an inch thick. Their internal dimensions are 6iin. 

 X 3in. X lain. The two end pieces are made of hard 

 wood, the better to hold the nails, but this would not be 

 necessary if one could get them dovetailed together. One 

 of these end pieces is narrower than the other so as to 

 leave a gap of about ^in. wide between it and the top, 

 and before nailing the latter on, a piece of muslin, about 

 Sin. wide, is glued across this end of the box, from side 

 to side and along the upper edge of this shorter end. In 

 this way, after the top has been secured in its place, a sort 

 of pocket is left between it and the muslin, the mouth of 

 which is formed by the gap between the narrower side piece 

 and the top ; and the inner end of the pocket is closed by 

 placing over it a thin slip of wood, secured to the inside of 

 the top of the box by a couple of tacks. This pocket is 

 then filled with a mixture of camphor and naphthaline, and 

 its mouth closed by means of a slip of wood forced into the 

 gap, and held only by friction, so that it can be at any 

 time readily prized out and the pocket refilled. 



This box portion is made to lift off the bottom, which 

 consists of a simple piece of thin plank, on to which is 

 tacked a piece of " cork carpet " exactly fitting the internal 

 plan of the box. As there are no sides to get in the way, 

 it is far easier to arrange the specimens in position than 

 in insect boxes of the usual plan. The boxes may be 

 made deeper, so that tliey can be utilised to carry a killing 

 bottle and other materials on the outward voyage, and some 



