30 NATURALISTS' ASSISTANT. 



in alcohol is then placed on the loop and the free ends 

 are gently inserted into the body until the hinder extremity 

 has passed half-way over the loop and the shellac has smeared 

 the inside sufficiently to hold the specimen when 

 dry. The folded end is then firmly wound around 

 an insect pin and the whole, after labelling, is placed 

 in a position where it can dry a couple of days be- 

 fore removal to the collection. 



MOUNTING SPIDERS. 



Spiders are usually preserved as wet preparations, 

 as when dried as insects usually are, the abdomen 

 shrinks badly. This, however, can be avoided as 

 follows : 



Kill the spider by exposure to some poisonous 

 vapor or gas (ether, chloroform or prussic acid) 

 and then cut the body in two between the cepha- 

 lothorax and abdomen. An insect pin is then 

 FlG * I0 " taken, its head inserted into the abdomen and its 

 point into a stick of wood, and then the abdomen is dried 

 by placing in the oven mentioned above, or in a test tube 

 heated over a spirit lamp. The specimen should be kept 

 turning so as to dry all sides evenly. When dry, the pin is 

 cut off a short distance from the abdomen and the anterior 

 portion of the spider is impaled on the extending part of the 

 pin, and then a second pin being passed through the thorax 

 (to be used in mounting in the collection), the whole is 

 returned to the oven until dry ; it is then labelled and placed 

 in the cabinet. 



