534 ENTOMOLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS, &C. 



irons might be made into very good handles ; but the hoop 

 to which the catgut is fastened should be brass, or if iron 

 it ought to be painted to secure it from rust. Some make 

 the leaves of the forceps round ; but when an insect is 

 perched on a wall or any vertical surface, it has less chance 

 of escape if you can apply a straight side to its station. 

 The Germans use a much longer and larger instrument 

 of this kind, having leaves of ten or twelve inches in dia- 

 meter, which they use to catch Lepidoptera when settled 

 on plants. When you aim at an insect with your for- 

 ceps, you must expand the leaves as much as possible, 

 and cautiously approach your prey ; and when within 

 reach, close them upon it suddenly, including the leaf or 

 flower on which it rests. As these are sometimes bulky, 

 and prevent the instrument from shutting closely, that 

 the included insect may not escape, it is often necessary 

 to use the other hand to bring them together, when the 

 pressure of the finger and thumb soon disables it. 



6. As the waters, whether running or stagnant, as welt 

 as the earth and the air, teem with insects, you must 

 likewise be provided with a net of a different description 

 from any of the preceding, that you may Jish them out. 

 It may be made of fine canvass, just deep enough to pre- 

 vent the insect from jumping out, and fastened to a brass 

 hoop five or six inches in diameter, not perfectly circu- 

 lar, but having the segment of a circle cut off anteriorly, 

 so that it will apply well to a flat vertical surface ; and 

 fitted posteriorly with a socket, to receive the end of 

 your stick ; or, what is better, with a screw, which will 

 securely fasten it to it a . In using this net, different 



a PLATE XXIV. FIG. 2. N.B. The net is represented too shallow 

 in this figure. 



