212 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



8-9 EDWARD VII., A. 1909 



other light material of an elastic nature, and then wrap this in good strong paper. 

 The address of the person to whom the specimens are sent should always be written 

 on a separate label which should be tied to the parcel so that this may receive the 

 postmark instead of the parcel, should the postmaster stamp it while passing through 

 the mail. It may be remembered that it is always better to put too mvich packing than 

 too little and when the box containing the specimens is protected by an outside box 

 therc should be plenty of space between the two. An ordinary shallow cigar box 

 ccrked at the bottom answers very well to pin insects in. Cork is by far the best 

 material to use for this purpose but corrugated paper, pith, sheets of peat, or any 

 other soft penetrable material may be used if of sufficient depth to support the pin 

 securely. 



' Packages packed as above will come safely through the mails and may, as in the 

 case of letters, be sent to the Division of Entomology at the Central Experimental 

 Farm, free of all postage. If for any reason it is desirable to send specimens by 

 express, this can be done by placing the box of insects in an ordinary fruit basket, 

 surrounding it well with light packing, such as is mentioned above, and covering the 

 top with ordinary wrapping pai)er. When sent by express, chai-ges on the parcel must 

 be prepaid by the sender. 



A convenient way of sending specimens for identification, particularly when these 

 are winged insects, such as butterflies and moths, is to put each specimen in a small 

 envelope as soon as it is killed, with the wings folded backwards over the back. This 

 should be done before they become too dry and brittle, or the legs and antennae will 

 be broken, which very much reduces their value as scientific specimens. 



The killing bottle used for insects is easily made. Having procured a wide- 

 mouthed bottle, place in the bottom of it two or three small pieces of cyanide of 

 potassium, each of about the size of a hazel nut, and then mix some fresh plaster of 

 Paris into a thick paste and pour enough of it into the bottle to entirely cover up the 

 poison. The plaster will set in about half an hour and the bottle is then ready for use. 

 This bottle will last for a year or two if kept closely corked. The fumes given off will 

 pass through the plaster and will kill any insect put in the bottle in a few minutes. 

 When insects are packed in the envelopes these should at once have written on them 

 the date and exact locality of capture, as well as the name or initials of the collector. 

 They should then be packed away in a fijm box and should not be moved again until 

 such time as they are to be relaxed for examination or mounting for the cabinet. To 

 relax specimens all that is necessary is to soak a cloth in water and then after wringing 

 out the superfluous water by twisting it tightly, place the envelopes between the folds 

 without opening them and leave them there for 12 to 24 hours according to the size 

 of the insect. They will then be soft enough to be set on the setting boards. When 

 set they s^hould be left on the boards for at least a week, so as to become thoroughly 

 dry or the wings will not remain even, after they are put in the cabinet. This ' spring- 

 ing back ' of the wings spoils the appearance of the specimens in the collection. The 

 envelopes used by entomologists are not gummed but are made as required. A con- 

 venient size can be made by taking oblongs of any moderately stiff paper, 4 inches long 

 by 3 wide, and folding tliem diagonally down the middle so that the portion folded 

 down reaches to within half an inch of the end of the opposite side, the half-incli flap 

 is then folded down over the central triangiilar double folded portion and the envelope 

 is turned over and the flap on the other side is trcat.ed in a similar way. This gives a 

 triangular envelope which can be opened by taking the flaps on each side with the 

 finger and thumb of each hand, and the specimen can be examined without danger 

 of breaking it. This cannot be done easily with an envelope made in the usual way. 

 The envelopes can of course be made of any size to fit the specimens to be saved. 



When plants are sent as botanical specimens to be named, they should first be 

 dried in the usual manner between sheets of absorbent paper and each specimen should 

 be placed on a separate piece of newspaper, cut to a convenient size for mailing. With 

 each specimen or written on the sheet of packing paper, should be a note of the data 



