114 



MISCELLANEOUS PAPEES. 



purpose the canvas roof should be capable of being shifted completely 

 to one side, so as to admit the sun, and swung back over the cage 

 again during bad weather and at night. The cage used for the 

 Japanese Tachma was made without any roof, being open to the sky 

 through the wire screening. Tarred roofing was placed over it 

 when needed. This proved to be a very great advantage. 



The second improvement will consist in a raised cement floor to 

 extend a foot all around outside the wire screen, this outside portion 

 to contain a shallow trench that should be kept constantly supplied 

 w^ith a little kerosene on water. This will obviate all difficulty from 

 ants, carabids, and spiders, which will often kill the Hies if not care- 



FiG. 21). — Glass cylinders in use ia rearing Tachinida;, and wire-screen recei)tacle for 

 inclosing flies with caterpillars on foliage. (Original.) 



fully watched. The floor can be sloped slightly inside the cage, so 

 as to drain off* through a pipe to be carried beneath the kerosene 

 trench. Xext season there will also be erected a separate cage of this 

 description fitted with shelving to accommodate the numerous glass 

 cjdinder stands necessary for the rearing of the different stages of 

 lachinids separately in caterpillars, which can be accomplished much 

 better under out-of-door conditions. 



Attention should be called to the wire-screen vestibule with which 

 our first outdoor cage was furnished (shown in fig. 25). This was 

 found quite necessary in order to prevent the flies from escaping while 

 the experimenter is going in and out of the door, certain species being 



