PRESERVING LA 





i 



a little toward e the groove for the reception of th< 

 as the wings often gather a little moisture, relas and fall 

 down after the insect is dried. " For the pn 

 insects with broad and flattened wings, such as butterflies 

 and moths, a spreading board or her is necessary. 



One thai is simple and answers every purpose is Bhown at 

 Pig. 267. It may be made of two pieces of thin white-wood 

 or pine board, fastened to- 

 gether by braces, especially 

 at the ends, and lefl wide 

 enough apart to admit the 

 bodies of the insects to be 

 Bpread: strips of cork or 

 pith, in which to fasten the 

 pins, may then be tacked 

 or glued below bo as to cover 

 the intervening -pace. The 

 braces must be deep enough 

 to prevent the pins from touching anything on which the 

 stretcher may be laid; and. by attaching a ring or loop to 

 one of them, the stretcher may be hung againsl a wall, out 

 of the way. For ordinary-sized specimens I use boar 

 feet long, 3 inches wide, and \ inch thick, with three bn 

 (one in the middle and one at each end) 1 '. inches deep at 

 the ends, but narrowing from each end t > 1.'. inches at the 

 middle. This Blight rising from the middle is to counter- 

 act the tendency of the wiugs, however well dried, to drop 

 a little after the insect i- placed in the cabinet. The wings 

 are held in position by mean- of strips of paper I I 

 until dry." (Wiley.) Others use strip- tiff, smooth 



cloth. 



Moths of medium size should remain t 

 on the Betting-board, while the larger thick-1 

 and Bom by cidaa require a week to dry. 1 in be 



arranged by means of a needle stuck into a handl< 

 wood. They should he set horizontally, and the : 

 margin of the fore wines drawn a litl ward • 



