THK ENTOMOLOGIST. 151 



in diameter and eight inches in height; cut a piece of cork, 

 so as to fit easily within it; soak tlie cork ihorougltly in 

 water; and having pinned on to it as many insects as it will 

 conveniently hold, place the cork on any flat surface, — as a 

 table, &c., — and cover it over with the cylinder. Nothing 

 more is required ; and the whole operation may be effected 

 in a couple of minutes. Twelve hours will be sufficient to 

 relax most Noctua) and all Georaelras. Sometimes in this 

 and, as 1 suppose, in all other methods, the insect will 

 become more or less damj). It is, therefore, desirable, after 

 it has been re-set, to thoroughly dry it by exposure, at a 

 safe distance, to the warmth of a fire. Ii may be observed 

 that it is almost impossible to re-set a moth, and still more 

 so a butterfly, so as to ])lease a fastidious eye; — at any 

 rate, I have failed to do so. While admiring, therefore, 

 Mr. Newman's modest disclaimer of "originality," I must 

 thoroughly endorse his motto — " Prevention is better than 

 cure." As regards Mr. Brown's question about the employ- 

 ment of the solution of corrosive sublimate, the injury done 

 to his insects arose from two causes: — first, the solution was 

 too strong; and secondly, he used it improperly. The 

 following extract, from a letter written to me by the late 

 Mr. H. Doubleday, will give Mr. Brown the necessary 

 information on these points: — "I am not an advocate for the 

 use of camphor; it unquestionably tends to make moths 

 greasy. If the under sides of the thorax and abdomen, and 

 the antennae, are carefully touched with a camel's-hair 

 ])encil dipped in a weak solution of corrosive sublimate, 



they are for ever proof against mites and mould I 



believe that when insects are carefully touched with a weak 

 solution of corrosive sublimate in pure alcohol, they will 



never mould or be destroyed by mites A small piece 



of sublimate, about the size of a hemp-seed, is sufficient for 

 an ounce of alcohol. It should never be strong enough to give 

 visible crystals on a non-absorbing substance (black), — a 

 piece of blackened ivory, for instance, — when it is wetted with 

 the solution and allowed to evapoiale. The best method of 

 applying it is to take a small caujel's-hair pencil and dip it in 

 the solution, pass it along the antenna?, and then apjily it to 

 the under side of the thorax and abdomen." N.B. (by 

 myself). — Extreme care is required in appljing the solution 



