RELAXING. 23 



system; it is clear then, that in order to relax one, 

 water must be re-introduced. In the case of a beetle, 

 this is easily done by putting it into warm water -for a 

 few moments ; but this treatment is much too rough for 

 the delicate wings of a butterfly. It must be placed 

 instead in moist air, warm by preference. There are 

 zinc boxes made for this purpose, and to be bought 

 at the dealers' for about a couple of shillings. These 

 are lined with cork, hot water is poured over the cork, 

 the superfluous water wiped off, and the butterfly shut 

 in. Another method is to put the butterfly into a 

 tightly-closed vessel containing bruised young laurel-leaves. 

 But these two plans are more suitable for keeping re- 

 laxed insects that cannot be set directly they are caught, 

 than for relaxing those that have become thoroughly 

 dry. In dealing with the latter I prefer to act as 

 follows : place on the bottom of some vessel, such as 

 a pudding-dish, or something of that kind, a layer of 

 moistened sand that has been thoroughly baked to kill 

 all vegetable and animal germs. Over this, but not 

 touching it or the sides of the vessel, place the butter- 

 flies to be relaxed. Put a fairly close-fitting cover over 

 them, and stand the whole in an oven that is getting 

 cool. In this way the insects will be relaxed with 

 comparative speed and, it seems to me, with less 

 detriment to their appearance. Insects that have been 

 relaxed must be left on the setting-boards longer than 

 those that have been freshly caught, ;pr they are apt to 

 spring to their old position. In every case strict watch 

 must be kept to prevent mould from growing on them 

 while they are damp. Before leaving this part of the 

 subject, I would say, never relax an insect if possible, 

 for it is almost certain to lose some of its freshness, 

 even if nothing worse befall it. 



