NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 99 
time it takes to complete the destruction of a specimen once verdigris 
sets in. Pins made of silver wire—or rather, alloy, mainly silver— 
have hitherto given complete satisfaction, but the supply has ceased 
and our stocks have given out. Under these circumstances lepi- 
dopterists will be pleased to hear of a cheap and efficient substitute 
for silver. A year ago I found a wire which possesses all the advan- 
tages of silver as regards corrosion ; it is of a dark grey colour, much 
cheaper than silver, and in addition it is of sufficient stiffness for the 
purpose intended. My experiments show the wire to be perfectly 
free from attack by the fatty acids in moth grease, and further, there 
is no action by organic acids in general. Most lepidopterists are 
aware that verdigris is formed on the pins in our cabinets by the 
action of the fatty acids, mentioned above, upon the copper in the 
brass pins generally used. I have supplied several of my friends 
with the new wire at various times during the last season; they have 
pointed it themselves and report favourably as regards its use. My 
own stock of silver pins is now exhausted, and I am having some 
made from the new wire for use during this coming season. The 
great difficulty is to find somebody to point the wire; dealers tell us 
that their efforts in this direction meet with no success. Lepidop- 
terists, like other people, dislike change, but if those who study only 
the Macros would demand an improved pin it would soon be to the 
advantage of a manufacturer to produce it, because the quantity 
required would make it worth while. As there seems to be very 
little chance of getting pins made for us in time for the coming 
season, I am obtaining a sufficiency of the wire of diameter suitable 
for Noctuz, Geometride and the various Micros, and shall be ready 
to supply those who wish to try it. The price cannot be stated at 
present, as it is not my intention to make a profit; it will depend 
upon the thickness of the wire, which will be wound on bobbins of 
one ounce for the larger sizes and on half-ounce bobbins for Micro 
sizes. In conclusion, I shall be delighted to hear from anyone who 
will seriously consider making these pins for the market.— Wm. 
ManssripGE; ‘“ Dunraven,” Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool. 
[I have tried Mr. Mansbridge’s non-corrosive wire and find that it 
resists all tendency to verdigris, so far as I have been able to apply 
the tests, and think it is a very good substitute for silver pins. The 
great difficulty, as Mr. Mansbridge says, is getting the pointing done. 
Last year I pointed several hundreds of pins with the aid of a small 
file, but this is a very laborious process. Iam told that by using an 
emery or carborundum wheel this labour can be much reduced ; 
personally I have not yet acquired the knack of doing this,!but one of 
my friends informs me he does not find any difficulty. He has 
certainly put most excellent points on about 200 pins for me.— 
W. HE. SHELDON. | 
ButrerFiy Notes FRoM CUMBERLAND.—I found 1920 a poor year 
for insects in general, some of the orders—Hemiptera, for instance— 
being extremely scarce. Butterflies, as was to be expected in such a 
wet summer, were, with few exceptions, uncommon. Most of my 
observations were made near Carlisle, on the borders of the Solway 
Firth, or on the south-west coast near Drigg, where I spent a fortnight 
