136 THE entomologist's record. 



the subject to other entomologists at the time. However, anxiety to 

 escape from verdigris made many adopt them ; advertisements and 

 fashion led the rest. Dr. Sharp's silver-wire would be safe from 

 verdigris, but it will not take a point. To pin a Lithocolhtis with 

 an ordinary sharp fine pin, is not easy to do successfully ; but to prick 

 a hole first, and then scretv in a piece of blunt silver-wire, sounds 

 hopeless. The silver- wire is rather dear too, and we should still want 

 ordinary pins as well, which would mean still more trouble and expense. 

 Steel pins, as offered now, appear to be made of a hard kind of steel 

 with some amount of manganese in it, and this, from its nature, would 

 rust quickly. Steel pins might be a success if they were coated with 

 a good thick coating of tin, by the ordinary method of tinning, the steel 

 selected having only sufficient hardness to render it of the usual pin- 

 metal temper after being heated in the process of tinning. A non- 

 corrosive pin metal might be made of an alloy, if not too expensive. 

 Antimony and tin, for instance, might be tried, in proportion, perhaps 

 of about I to ICO, tin to give the toughness, antimony the hardness. 

 If pins could be made of this, they would not require coating. Would 

 German silver be likely to do for a pin metal? These are only 

 suggestions. The perfect entomological pin has yet to be invented, 

 and if someone versed in metals would set his brains to Avork to 

 invent a good one, he might find it pay well, and he would certainly 

 deserve our lasting gratitude. — W. Holland, Reading. April, 1892. 

 [Perhaps Mr. Holland is right, but not altogether so. Some of my 

 Pterophori have stood for eight or nine years now, and those on 

 white pins apparently no longer. I still think the japanned pin staves 

 off the evil day. The whole of Mr. Holland's paper is most instructive 

 and suggestive. — Ed.] 



We have naturally been much interested in the correspondence in 

 the Entomologisfs Record in connection with your paper on the subject 

 of " Ammonia, Verdigris and Black Pins," and would Hke to be 

 permitted to say that the reason japanned pins are softer than the 

 silvered ones, is on account of the process of japanning being done at 

 a high temperature. This has a tendency to soften the wire and causes 

 the pin to be less elastic. We are now manufacturing entomological 

 pins black bronzed, which is done in solution and does not soften 

 the pins. The difference between our entomological pins and those of 

 other makers is that by our process of manufacture the head is formed 

 first and the point ground true with the head. In the ordinary process 

 the point is ground first and the head made afterwards with the result 

 of great injury to the point in the heading process. The only objection 

 to our entomological pins that we have ever received, is in respect of 

 the size of the heads, but these cannot be reduced by our process 

 of manufacture. Is it not possible for the collector to cut the heads off 

 with a pair of pliers after impaling the insect? — D. F. Tayler & Co., 

 Limited, Birmingham. May ^ih, 1892. 



I think the No. 8 pin is suitable for almost all the Noctu^, with the 

 exception of a few of the very largest, and if the black pin is con- 

 sidered the best why not everyone use it in the future. What looks 

 worse than to see a series of good insects set with all sizes and all 

 colours of pins, and one insect perhaps touching the drawer, whereas 

 the next one appears as if it wanted to come through the glass. I 



