The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



Fig. 67. — Detail draw- 

 ing of box, in which the 

 tongue, ^, is made of strips 

 of zinc let into a groove 

 and fastened as at n ; g^ 

 groove to catch tongue; 

 s, s, top and bottom; c, 

 cork. 



is manufactured for the purpose of lining boxes. Turf com- 

 pressed into sheets about half an inch thick and covered with 

 paper is used by many European collectors. Sheets of aloe-pith 

 or of the wood of the yucca, half an inch thick, are used, and the 

 pith of corn-stalks (Indian corn or maize) may 

 also be employed, laid into the box and glued 

 neatly to the bottom. The corn-pith should 

 be cut into pieces about half an inch square 

 and joined together neatly, covering it with 

 thin white paper after the surface has been 

 made quite even and true. Cork is, however, 

 the best material, for, though more expensive 

 than the other things named, it has greater 

 power to hold the pins, and unless these are 

 securely fixed and held in place great damage 

 is sure to result. A loose specimen in a box 

 will work incalculable damage. Boxes should 

 be made of light, thoroughly seasoned wood, 

 and should be very tight. They are some- 

 times made so that specimens may be 

 pinned both upon the top and the bottom, but this is not to be 

 commended. The depth of the box should be sufficient to admit 

 of the use of the longest insect-pin in use, and a depth between 

 top and bottom of two and a quarter inches is therefore sufficient. 

 Boxes are sometimes made with backs in imitation of books, and 



a collection arranged in 

 such boxes presents an 

 attractive external ap- 

 pearance. A very good 

 box is made for the 

 United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and 

 for the Carnegie Muse- 

 um in Pittsburgh (Fig. 

 68). This box is thir- 

 teen inches long, nine 

 inches wide, and three inches thick (external measurement). The 

 depth between the bottom and the lid on the inside is two and 

 one eighth inches. The ends and sides are dovetailed; the top 

 and bottom are each made of two pieces of light stuff, about one 



49 



Fig. 68. — Insect-box for preservation of collections. 



