234 MR. C BODEN KLOSS ON 



u. 1 recoiiimeiul t'ullectiiig boxes made as follow.-,: — built of 

 half iiifh ]ilaiiks well iilaned down, internal dimensions, 2cS inches 

 long, 14 inciies wide and 10 inches dee]i. The box should be fitted 

 with a number of light traj-s of various depths, saj', one of three 

 inches, one of one inch, and six of one-and-a-half inches, the latter size 

 being that in most demand. The frames of the tra3's(ie., the sides 

 and ends) should be well put together and the corners strengthened 

 internall}' by extra wood, while a hole should be cut in either end 

 for ease in lifting. The bottoms should be of some soft thin wood that 

 will take pins easily and should be onl^' lightl}' attached to the 

 frames. This tray-fitted box should go into a second jast large enougli 

 to contain it with its staple and padlock. 



When starting on a collecting trip the bottoms should be 

 removed from the trays (the tacks being carefully preserved) and 

 placed on tlie floor of the box and the frames fiited in above them 

 lining the sides ; a large space will thus be available for packing- 

 apparatus and preservative materials. The smaller box is then placed 

 within the larger. On arriving at tlie collecting locality the 

 boxes are unpacked, the stores put in the larger and the trays fitted 

 together in readiness for specimens to dry by day and be boxed 

 u[) at night in some ant-free place. As the skins become dvy they are 

 unpinned from the trays and packed in tlie larger box. 



This double-box system is proiiosed because I have alwaj's found 

 that after a successful collecting trip one requires more boxes on (he 

 homeward, than on the outward, journey. The skins which are not 

 yet dry can travel still pinned to the traj's. 



If it is expected that large or bulky collections will be made, 

 several boxes should be provided. 



Methods of Coi>lectixg and Tpf.vtmf.xt of Specimkxs. 



Mannnals are to be obtained by shooting, trapping and purchase. 

 A rifle is sometimes useful in open country, but nearly all small and 

 moderate-sized mannnals to be got by shooting, can be obtained with a 

 twelve-bore gun and the following sizes of shot: — SSCi, AA, 2, 5, S 

 and, for small mammals at close (juarters, cartridges loaded with half 

 charges of powder and shot (10), the case being filled out by wads bet- 

 ween the two. 



The best trap for small mannnals is a horse-shoe shaped pattern 

 called the " Hchuyler" which can be bought in nearly"- every town in 

 the East ; for carnivoi'a, strong jaw-traps are best, but less easily obtain- 

 ed locally. They should have a chain or wire rope for attaching them 

 to stout stakes or trees, and the bait should be hung above the pan about 

 knee-high from the ground by a piece of string tied to the top of a long- 

 sloping stake. 



If the local ])opulation is at all energetic or interested, individuals 

 can often be stimulated by ofiers of reward to snaro animals that the 

 collector himself has little chanco of obtaining or meeting. The ex- 

 temporised trap io often belter than the manufactured one. 



JOLK.N. XAT. mSl. SOC. SUM. 



