62 DEL AGO A BAY. 



cage ; but although it readily ate bananas aiid 

 sweet potatoes and bread, it died in two days, 

 so he gave it to me, and I skinned it at once. 



I find that the best way to preserve large 

 moths is to drop a little chloroform on their 

 heads whilst in the net, and before they recover 

 put them into a little bottle containing cyanide 

 of potassium, which not only kills quickly, but 

 prevents them from becoming stiff. I some- 

 times can get them into the poison-bottle with- 

 out chloroform, and they are insensible at once. 

 Moths should always be touched as little as pos- 

 sible by the fingers, as their scales rub off so 

 very quickly, particularly on the back of the 

 thorax ; they also have a bad habit of spreading 

 themselves out flat and creeping along in the 

 net, instead of folding back their wings like the 

 right-minded and sensible butterfly. 



I think you will allow that by the time the 

 moths are disposed of I have well earned my 

 evening meal, especially as I rarely taste any- 

 thing all day but a morsel of dry biscuit or a 

 handful of roasted ground-nuts, and generally 



