14 APHOKISMATA ENTOMOLOGICA. 



place, but they by no means .suit the ^noeoniotive depai'tracnt," or, rather, 

 it does not suit them. To meet this difficulty, you can have recourse 

 to either of the three following expedients: — First, when out collecting, 

 and especially if you catch a large number of specimens, do not attempt 

 to set any of your insects at all: on the whole I recommend this 

 plan. You will find by the adoption of the method of relaxing herein- 

 after mentioned, that insects may be set quite as well, one may almost 

 say even better, than when quite fresh caught. By keeping them also 

 till the winter, or against a "rainy day," you will have the "Use of 

 sunshine" for collecting, and be a1jle to perform that afterwards leisurely, 

 which cannot be well done in haste. Secondly, by having your ex- 

 tending boards, of which more anon, narrow in width, you can tye a 

 number of the woods on each of them, and then extend your insects 

 with the threads in a row the same as if singly and loose. Or, thirdly, 

 you can have your extending boards and pieces of wood, so to call them, 

 in one, as it were, combining the excellencies of both: as thus — on the 

 board, made in the ordinary way, namely, a thin piece of cork, which, 

 by the way, you can procure at any good shoemaker's, glued on to a 

 piece of deal, and papered over, add a second piece of cork, fastened 

 on the first in the same manner: round off this top piece in suitable 

 lengths on each side cross-wise, and also cut out a strip in the centre 

 of it, and you then have a series of the rounded woods of cork, on which 

 you can extend the insects you catch, either with thread, or the ordinary 

 card braces, and can place them in safety in the case which I proceed 

 to describe. 



"funded securities. 



If your extending boards are left lying loosely about, it is ten to 

 one but that some damage will accrue to the specimens that may from 

 time to time be placed thereon. There are various accidents to which 

 they may be exposed, to say nothing of dust, which is an unfailing 

 source of damage and injury. To guard therefore against this, "No 

 quid detrimenti res entomologica capiat," have a case made of oak, or 

 any other wood, say one foot three inches high, one foot one inch wide, 

 and nine inches deep; with a door to it, and inside a series of slides on which 

 the boards can run, so as to be easily taken in and out. I had my 

 extending boards made of narrow width, so as to have two on each tier, 

 sufficient height being loft of coin-sc between each for the pins of the 



