June, '04] 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



207 



Common jelly -glasses, with tight tin covers, make very good 

 breeding- jars for the house. I also use several sizes of screw- 

 top jars of the style as shown by 

 Fig. 18. They are made in a num- 

 ber of sizes ranging from small ones 

 of an ounce capacity up to large 

 ones about six inches tall by three 

 inches inches in diameter. The par- 

 ticular advantage of both the com- 

 mon jelly-glasses and the screw-top 

 jars is that they have no inside ribs 

 or ledges to gather dirt or for the 

 larvae to spin their food-plant to and 

 prevent its easy removal for clean- 

 ing, etc. 



For convenience of handling, a 

 few shallow trays should be made, 

 just wide enough to hold a glass or 

 jar, and about twelve or fifteen 

 inches long. For the longer vials 

 (Fig. 17), racks such as are used 

 for holding rows of test-tubes are 

 very convenient. 



It is well to go over the material collected as soon as possi- 

 ble after returning from a trip, taking one vial or box at a 

 time and carefully drawing out with forceps the small clusters 

 of leaves that may have been packed in too tightly for comfort, 

 and placing them in a jar of suitable size, so that the contents 

 will not more than half fill it. Then write on a slip of paper 

 date, place and food-plant ; use pencil always, the dampness 

 will make an undecipherable blot of ink. L,eaves of firm text- 

 ure, such as those of the hardwood trees, can be closed up 

 tight without danger of sweating or mold, but some of the 

 softer leaves, e.specially of succulent annual weeds, are apt to 

 get too wet ; and if drops of water are observed on the inside 

 of the glass, remove the tin cover and close the top with a 

 piece of cheese-cloth held on by a rubber band. A day or two 

 of drying out is sufficient- 



Fig. 18. 



