PROCEEDINGS OF THE THlllD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 973 



if you declare their value at a fancy figure, your correspondent (in some 

 80-caIled civilized countries at least) will be called on to pay Customs 

 Duty on tliem at a corresjjondingly inflated rate. 



With unpinned, dry tnalerial the main object is to j^revent rattling 

 about in transit. Do not send specimens loose in a tube ; pack them 

 sufficiently tightly with a wad of tissue-paper, not cotton-wool. Butter- 

 flies and similar specimens in paper envelopes should not be allowed 

 to rattle about. Pack in a light but sufficiently strong box and, if it 

 is not quite full, fill it up with tissue-paper or balls of crumpled pajjer, 

 adding a little powdered naphthaline. 



Sfirit material is best sent in tubes fitted with good corks. Speci- 

 mens must not be sent loose in a tube. Place a wad of tissue-paper 

 at the bottom of the tube, then fill in the specimens, then another wad 

 of tissue-paper pressed gently against the specimens to prevent their 

 moving and then, if necessary, more tissue-paper up to the cork. Do 

 not use cotton-wool inside the tubes, as the specimens get entangled 

 in the fibres. See the tube is filled with spirit and that the cork is tight. 

 If the cork tends to come out, place a piece of thin string in the tube, 

 then ram home the cork and withdraw the string. If the tube cracks 

 or the spirit leaks out en route, the moistened wads of tissue-paper will 

 help to keep the specimens in condition until their jomney's end. See 

 that each tube contains its proper label. Wrap each tube separately 

 in paper and then in a v.rapping of tow or wool and pack in a stout 

 wooden box with plenty of packing around each tube and an extra 

 cjuantity lining the bottom, sides, and top of the box. As in the case of 

 pinned specimens, it is best to use screw-down lids to the packing boxes. 



Living material should be sent as a lule in light wooden boxes^not 

 in tight tins or boxes jmnched with large holes, as insects are usually 

 asphyxiated in air-tight tins and living insects often escape if holes are 

 provided for this purpose. 



Eggs of insects may be sent wrapped in tissue-paper or thin muslin 

 placed in small boxes or a piece of bamboo so that they will not rattle 

 about or be exposed to pressure in the post. 



Larvae are generally best sent in wooden boxes. Caterpillars may 

 be packed with dry leaves, as wet leaves placed with them usually 

 ferment and they are often killed by the conditions so resulting. If 

 food for the caterpillars is to be sent, it should be sent separately and 

 might be wrapped in slightlj- damped muslin and sent in an airy wooden 

 box. 



Subtenanean larvae are best sent packed in crumpled paper pressed 

 moderately tightly together ; if sent in earth, they are usually crushed 

 or asphyxiated. 



