102 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



as far as he could, accurately and pleasantly of the 

 British Butterflies ; he also desired to make his 

 book one of practical utility to the entomologist 

 in pursuing his special line of study. Accordingly 

 at the end of the volume he added what he termed 

 the Aphorismata Entomologica, which consisted of 

 four-and-twenty closely printed pages giving full 

 and minute details as to the formation and arrange- 

 ment of an entomological collection. The catching 

 and killing of specimens, the setting of them, methods 

 of capture, flowers and trees frequented by moths 

 and butterflies, even the kinds of pins to be used 

 in setting these and many other similar mysteries 

 of the craft of entomology were entered into and 

 explained at length. A couple of pages of illustra- 

 tions of some of the entomologist's apparatus were 

 also added. On one of them was depicted an in- 

 genious net which he invented for catching the 

 " Purple Emperor " butterfly, an insect which gene- 

 rally flies about the tops of tall trees, and so cannot 

 be reached with an ordinary net. This " castle in 

 the air," as he termed it, was made as light as pos- 

 sible, the handle being constructed like a long fishing- 

 rod, of bamboo ; this was kept from bending unduly 

 "by means of stays coming from near the top to a 

 double cross-tree, somewhat after the manner of the 

 royal-mast of a man-of-war. 



He playfully ended his Aphorismata with a 

 bit of advice that savoured strongly of his own 

 principles. " Lastly," he observed, " in common 

 with all who wish well to their collections, or to 



