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drawer. In these days of careful cataloguing, and full and 

 accurate data, this abundant space for small labels is of the 

 utmost importance. It should be noted that the proximity of 

 the insects to the glass necessitates care in the removal of the 

 covers, because of the injury to the wings which is apt to be 

 caused by a sudden rush of air. 



Direction of the Pin. — The upright position has the great 

 advantage that it favours uniformity, which, on the other hand, 

 is very difificult to secure over a wide area with the sloping 

 position. The latter method, furthermore, tends to hide the 

 labels on the pin, inasmuch as it brings them further under 

 the body of the insect. 



Plane of the Wings. — The flat position also favours uniformity, 

 whereas the slope always tends to vary according to the taste of 

 the collector. Another, and perhaps the chief, advantage is that 

 the flat wings being at right angles to the line of vision are more 

 clearly and distinctly seen. To see the sloping wings perfectly 

 the insect must be turned first to one side and then to the other, 

 and both sides cannot be seen perfectly at the same time. The 

 flat continental boards do not, as a rule, produce perfect 

 flatness because the wings are naturally curved a little, and 

 this requires special correction. Mr. H. J. Elwes has devised 

 boards, now much used in this country, which are curved 

 slightly in the opposite direction, viz., upwards, and these are 

 very effective in producing the desired flatness. The wings are 

 usually held in place by strips of engineers' tracing cloth secured 

 by the ordinary milliners' steel, glass-headed pins, which can 

 be easily driven into soft wood. 



Forward directiofi of the Wings. — Here, too, the continental 

 method of placing the inner margin of the fore wings at right 

 angles to the body has the great advantage of uniformity, 

 and when the setting is performed mechanically, with no 

 knowledge of or interest in the insects themselves, it would 

 probably be the most expedient system to adopt. If, however, 

 the setter has something of the feeling of a naturalist and 

 artist, far more pleasing results may be obtained by placing 



