NETS AND FORCEPS. 



First in importance is a net for catching Lepidoptera and other 

 insects. 



Fig. 7. — Frame for Insect Net. 



The above will illustrate the frame work of one of the most 

 convenient nets I know of. It is made as follows : Take two 

 pieces of stout brass wire, each about 18 inches long, bend them 

 half-circularly and join them at one end, making a link similar to 

 that in a chain. At the other ends there is a screw cut in half, 

 each half of which is soldered to the ends of the wire. When 

 pressed together they will screw into the top of the handle, which 

 is made with a piece of brass tubing one inch long, fastened on 

 the end, in which threads are cut to receive the screw of the 

 frame. The handle is also provided with a solid threaded screw 

 which can be put in the end and used for a walking cane. The 

 net can be folded and put in the pocket. 



To the frame there should be affixed a bag made of fine, strong 

 gauze or mosquito netting from which the stiffening has been well 

 washed ; this bag should be about eighteen inches long, and the 

 top bound with a strip of muslin which should be fastened to the 

 frame or rim. The handle may be made three or four feet long. 

 Besides the net the collector should be provided with some strong 

 paste-board or light wooden boxes, lined at the bottom with cork ; 

 these should be of a size convenient to carry in the pocket. Insect 

 pins of the best quality are, of course, indispensible. 



Forceps of various sorts should be at hand ; the small, delicate, 

 narrow-bladed kind, with fine sharp points, are excellent for 

 handling minute specimens. For pinning insects into boxes the 

 forceps should be stout, the bludes blunt and curved at the end, so 

 that the insects can be pinned without slanting the forceps much. 



