70 THE YOUNG COLLECTOR'S 



of the drawer, when set. The groove, as well as the sides of trn 

 board (which maybe either flat or bevelled off), must be covered 

 with cork. Pin your insect through the centre of the thorax, 

 stick it in the groove, and arrange the wings on each side of the 

 board in a natural position, and fix them down with strips of 

 card-board (as shown in our illustration), and leave them till stiff. 

 Then arrange them in a tight-fitting corked box, placing them 

 in rows, and as nearly in order as you can, putting the name of 

 the genus above and the name of the species below your series 

 of each species. 



A cabinet being an expensive article, you had better keep 

 your collection in boxes at first. Tightly fitting boxes, like 

 backgammon boards, but rather deeper, and lined, with cork 

 top and bottom, are the best; and smaller boxes of a similar 

 kind are necessary, to carry about in the pocket. If you have a 

 turn for mechanics, you can perhaps amuse yourself by making 

 boxes for yourself, lining them with sliced bottle-corks, if you 

 have nothing else handy, and pasting clean white paper over the 

 corks to make the box look neater, and to show off the insects 

 better. It is a good plan to brush over the paper with a little 

 carbolic acid and water (just so weak as to leave no stain), and 

 then let it dry before using it. Insects must be kept in the 

 dark, for light bleaches them, and a little camphor must be kept 

 in the box, and replenished as often as necessary, or they will 

 soon be devoured by mites. The carbolic acid is an additional 

 safeguard. 



In rearing caterpillars, avoid touching them with the fingers, 

 and keep them plentifully supplied with fresh food, which 

 should not be gathered when wet, and the old food should be 

 carefully removed. In collecting perfect insects, never catch 

 more specimens than you want for your own collection, or for 

 your friends ; and do not keep any damaged specimen, unless 

 it is a rarity which you are not likely to be able to replace. It 

 is true that most insects are generally abundant where they 

 occur ; but many are confined to certain localities, and it is a 

 pity to destroy them wantonly, especially when you perhaps run 

 the risk of materially reducing the numbers of a local species. 



Although I cannot here attempt to give such a complete out- 

 line of British Lepidoptera as is included in my larger work 

 on European Butterflies and Moths, yet I will now attempt to 

 give a brief introductory sketch of the subject, which may be 

 useful to beginners. 



Butterflies and Moths belong to the Order Lepidoptera or 

 Scale-winged Insects ; they pass through four well-marked 



