Mar., '04] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 9I 



direction, and push through thorax until you can feel the 

 point, then holding top of pin by forceps, push the insect to 

 desired height, by sticking pin in a piece of soft pith, that of 

 common elder, Sambuais canadensis L., being the most satisfac- 

 tory. The same procedure if Kirby No. 1 

 pin is used, except the forceps for handling 

 pin are unnecessary. Fig. 3. 



In connection with this operation, two 



. „ small points will be useful to ob.serve. ist : 



•3-3. ^ 



if the ends of the forefinger and thumb 



are very dry, the insect is liable to slip about and dodge 

 the pin. To overcome this, dampen end of finger, rubbing it 

 against thumb until you can feel the least bit of a sticky feel- 

 ing. The second point : when pinning the insect, steady both 

 hands by letting the tips of the two little fingers press against 

 each other. 



Setting Needles. — Nothing better than common fine 

 cambric needles, a package costing only a few cents, stuck eye 

 end into extra long match sticks. This is easily done by hold- 

 ing needle in left hand, vertically, with point on piece of hard 

 wood, — desk-top, for instance, — in the right hand hold the 

 match stick and firmly and gently force it down, so that the 

 eye of the needle goes up into the stick for three-quarters of 

 its length. The match wood being so much softer than the 



top of desk, the point goes into the latter only a very little 

 and comes out easily. A few needles will be broken, but with 

 care the majorit}^ will be all right. Afterwards with a sharp 

 knife whittle off needle end of stick to a neat taper. Fig. 4. 



Setting Boards. — Use exactly the same kind as you do 

 for macros, but make the slot just a trifle larger than the bod- 

 ies of the insects. The widths of .slots of my boards range 

 from one-sixteenth to five-sixteenths of an inch ; the two sizes 

 most commonly u.sed have one-eighth and one-quarter inch 

 slots. 



As the pins I use will not go through thick cork without 

 dangerous forcing, I glue a strip of elder pith on the under 



