112 THE MICROSCOPE. Aug 
Preparation of Insects and their Parts. 
By J. TEMPERE. 
PARIS, FRANCE. 
[Translated from Micrographe Preparateur. | 
STOMACHS AND DIGESTIVE APPARATUS.—The most inter- 
esting and the easiest to prepare of these organs is with- 
out doubt the stomach or rather the gizzard, for the 
greater part of insects like birds have a first recepticle 
or crop capable of being expanded and of holding a large 
amount of food which is to be ground and partly assim- 
ilated by the gizzard. The crop or first stomach consists 
of a very elastic sac; capable of expanding and contract- 
ing, the inner coating of which is furnished with teeth 
which are small and very strong. At the extremity of 
the neck formed by a progressive diminution, is the 
gizzard; this in the grass-hopper and cricket is in the 
shape of a little ball while in the cock-roach it is cone 
shaped. It is composed of a muscular membrane very 
powerful externally, and of hard chitinous plates armed 
with variously formed teeth according to the species ; it 
is this part which is the most interesting to study. 
In extracting the stomach and gizzard it is necessary 
to take much care and a common cricket is a good sub- 
ject for practice. This may be found inall bakeries. The 
insect should be taken alive and killed with chloroform, 
Now seize it by taking the thorax between the thumb and 
index finger of the right hand, without pressing it much; 
then with the same fingers of the other hand, take it by the 
head and very carefully draw them apart. The head 
will be detached probably bringing with it the two 
stomachs. Insects preserved in alcohol become hard and 
will not permit of this operation, and in order to extract 
the gizzard it becomes necessary to split open the thorax 
and a part of the abdomen and search in the interior for 
the stomach. 
