Capture and Preservation of Butterflies 



There is another method of setting Lepidoptera which 

 only requires to be more widely known to quickly 

 supersede the use of braces and bristle. It is sometimes 

 called the " Northern " method, but I prefer to call it 

 the " Paisley," because it was first used in that town. 

 Its advantages are : Greater speed, less apparatus, less 

 expense, and less liability to damage the specimens. 

 Instead of the usual setting-board, a block is used that 

 is to say, your setting-boards are cut up into short 

 pieces, in length a little less than the width of the board. 

 Thus, a board i\ inches wide should be cut into pieces 

 ij inches long. As no corked surface is needed these 

 blocks can be made or bought very cheaply ; the usual 

 cost, from a joiner, is about two shillings per hundred. 

 The only other requisite is a cop of very fine cotton 

 " I2O 8 " or even finer if you can get it. This you will be 

 able to obtain from a cotton-spinner or his agent ; by- 

 and-by, as this method of setting becomes more widely 

 known the dealers will probably stock a few of these 

 fine cotton-yarn cops.* Plate III. will show you how 

 to construct a stand for the cop. The rest is easy. Pin 

 your insect in the same way as you would do for braces ; 

 place it on the block with wings well down on its sur- 

 face, holding the block in your left hand. Give your 

 cotton a turn round the extreme edge of the block, then 

 bring it directly above your insect. Now blow the 



* Readers desirous of adopting this most excellent method of 

 setting, and yet experiencing difficulty in getting suitable cotton- 

 yarn, should communicate with the author, Mr. A. M. Stewart, 38, 

 Ferguslie, Paisley. EDITOR. 



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