530 METHOD OF PRESERVING INSECTS. 



since the discovery of America. In the "Wanderings" is a full 

 account of this. 



With regard to using the spirit of turpentine in preserving insects, 

 I can only say, that I have long and successfully made use of the 

 spirit of turpentine. In 1808, having tried many useless experiments 

 to expel living insects from dead ones, and from other preparations 

 in natural history, on opening one day an old magazine (I forget 

 now of what denomination) in a planter's house in Essequibo, I read 

 the following remark : " Spirit of turpentine is known to be the 

 most fatal poison to insects." Taking it for granted that the spirit 

 was fatal through an atmosphere as I was sure no insect would drink 

 it voluntarily, and I did not see how it could be forced down their 

 throats I put some spirit of turpentine into a trunk of preserved skins 

 of birds, and into which the moth had found its way. The next 

 morning, I saw that the spirit of turpentine had killed all the moths. 

 In the course of time, the use of the corrosive sublimate in alcohol 

 succeeded to this, and rendered the spirit of turpentine wholly un- 

 necessary, wherever the sublimate could be applied to every part of 

 the preserved specimen. But as on some occasions I only washed 

 the inside of the skins, and, in this case, the feathers themselves, not 

 having received the poison, were still liable to injury from insects, 

 especially in tropical climates, I always took the precaution to have 

 spirit of turpentine in the box. In order to make myself clearly 

 understood, I will describe exactly what I did. I bought common 

 hair trunks which are sent out with goods from Europe to South 

 America; I strewed the bottom of the trunks with cotton, upon 

 which I placed the preserved bird-skins, and the different insects 

 which I had collected. Both birds and insects were placed promis- 

 cuously in the same trunk. I then saturated a piece of sponge with 

 spirit of turpentine, and hung it up in a corner of the trunk : I re- 

 newed this spirit from time to time. From that period to this, no 

 living insect has been detected in the trunks. The plumage of the 

 birds is as vivid as it was at the time I shot them ; and the moths 

 and butterflies as splendid as when in life; but most of the other 

 insects, except some of the beetles, have faded. Thus I am enabled 

 to say, by actual experiment, that the atmosphere of spirit of turpen- 

 tine will allow neither acarus nor any insect to live in it ; and, more- 



