OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 37 



Cabinet and Boxes. — The boxes or cases, which are used to keep 

 insects in permanently, may be made of any dimensions to suit the 

 fancy — 12x16 inches, inside, being a convenient size, and allowing 

 economic us^e of cork. They must, however, be perfectly tight, and 

 should not be more than 2A^ inches deep on the inside. The bottoms 

 should be lined with something which will hold the pins, and the 

 whole inside covered with white paper, which, if delicately cross- 

 ruled, will facilitate the regular pinning of specimens. While the 

 size and style of the box and cabinet may be left to individual taste, 

 some choice must be had of material. Red cedar should never he 

 used. I have learned, to my sorrow, the baneful effects of this wood, 

 notwithstanding it is recommended — evidently by those who are 

 guiltless of having used it — as having the advantage over other wood, 

 of keeping off museum pests. It seems impossible to get this wood 

 so seasoned but that a certain amount of resin will continually exude 

 from it; and insects in boxes of this material are very apt to soften 

 and become greasy. Paper boxes are also bad, as they attract mois- 

 ture and cause the specimens to mold. The French used to make very 

 neat boxes of this material, and Dr. Fitch, of New York, imported a 

 number for his insects. He has been paid for his trouble by having 

 almost all of his specimens ruined by mold. I use, myself, well sea- 

 soned pine and white- wood; and in such boxes as have glass covers, 

 and are intended to form part of a neat cabinet for parlor ornament, 

 the fronts may be of walnut or cherry. 



My best cabinet consists of 60 boxes of the above dimensions, in 

 three tiers of twenty each. The boxes are made of well-seasoned pine, 

 the lower part having a depth of 14^ inches, with a rabbet extending 

 I inch above it. The glass cover, with a frame 1 inch deep, fits over 

 this. The sides and back, exclusive of rabbet, are made of ^ inch 

 stuff, but the front, which is made of cherry, is twice as thick, the 

 better to hold a ring, sunk flush in the middle. The bottoms are made 

 of two thin pieces, cross-grained, to prevent warping or cracking, and 

 the whole varnished with shellac and alcohol. The cabinet is made 

 of black walnut, with the exception of the back, which is pine, and 

 is simply a case with folding doors in front, and a series of skeleton 

 shelves | inch thick. Boxes, such as these, when the lid is secured 

 by hooks, will also be found convenient to hang upon a wall. 



A very convenient and secure box, 12x8x2^ inches inside, and 

 made to look like a book, is manufactured (price $3.00) by Mr. J. 8. 

 Ridings, of Philadelphia. The back is made in one piece, 12x3| inches, 

 \ inch thick in the middle and rounding off on the outside to :^ inch at 

 the ends. The front and ends are 3 inches wide and ^ inch thick, the 

 front piece having a length of 12 and the ends, which overlap it, of 

 8i inches. The sides are 12|^x8| inches, with a thickness'' of ^ inch. 

 When glued and bradded together, and sand-papered, this box is care- 

 fully sawed in two down the middle. Thin strips 2 inches wide and 



