THE LAUREL-UOTTLE AND THE SWEEP-NET. 27 



orushed laurel iu it, and put it into the bottle. In eithei 

 case, tlie bottle must be kept firmly corked, or the vapour- wiV 

 esijape. 



The use of the bottle will be shown as soon as it is employed. 

 Let a Beetle, however large, fierce, or voracious, be put into it, 

 and its fate is at once sealed. It begins to kick and struggle, 

 as if it knew its danger ; but in less than a second the strug- 

 gling is evidently over, and the insect turns on its back, with 

 its legs quivering in the poisoned air. The fact is, the laurel 

 contains a large amount of prussic acid, and the interior of the 

 bottle is charged with its vapour. Now, as has already been 

 mentioned, the breathing apparatus of an insect pervades the 

 whole of the body, even to the end of the limbs ; and when the 

 poisonous^ vajsour is inhaled, it penetrates simultaneously the 

 entire system, and causes almost instantaneous death. It will 

 be as well for the beginner to use the laurel-bottle for all 

 Beetles, as it does not damage them, and he need not trouble 

 himself to distinguish the voracious from the harmless species. 



There is only one drawback to the laurel-bottle, and this 

 is more apparent than real. It stiffens the limbs, so that the 

 insects cannot be ' set ' properly, and the legs will rather break 

 than bend. However, this difficulty is overcome in a very 

 simple way — namely, by leaving them in the bottle for a few 

 days, when the rigid limbs will become relaxed and as flexible 

 as they were during life. Some care, however, is required, as, 

 if they are left too long in the- bottle, the process of softening 

 extends too far, and the limbs are apt to fall off altogether. 



Very few instruments are required for the captm-e of Beetles 

 besides the digger which has already been described. Two 

 nets are almost indispensable, one made of stout net, and the 

 other of brown holland or the strongest linen. The former 

 should be about seven inclies in diameter, and is used for 

 fishing Water Beetles and their larvse out of ponds, ditches, and 

 streams. 



The latter, which is called from its use the sweep-net, re- 

 quires to be made with some care, as it meets with very rouo-h 

 usage, and, unless properly made, will soon be worn oat. The 

 depth should be at least twice its diameter. 



The framework of the net is simply a ring or hoop about 

 nine inches in diameter, made of iron or brass about as thick 



