3IO 



INSECT LIFE. 



floors, is also a good substitute for sheet-cork. The 

 use of cork largely obviates the danger of injuring 

 the points of delicate pins. 



In certain parts of our country, especially in the 

 warmer parts of California, an excellent substitute for 

 cork can be obtained by cutting into thin slices dead 

 flowering stalks of the century plant. The inner 

 part of such stalks is a very soft pith called pita-wood 

 (pronounced pe'tah-wood). 



The pith of large cornstalks is even softer than 

 pita- wood, but it is not as convenient to use on ac- 

 count of its smaller size. But the pupils that are 

 unable to procure cases lined with cork or pita-wood 

 should provide themselves with at least one cigar- 

 box, into the bottom of which they have neatly glued 

 a layer of corn pith. The cork, pita-wood, or corn 

 pith can be covered with a sheet of white paper, giv- 

 ing the case a neat appearance. 



If only a single box is thus lined with pith, it 

 should be reserved for the specimens that are being 

 studied — that is, those that are taken out frequently. 



The College Insect Case. — There is a great lack of uni- 

 formity in the size and details of form of the insect cases used in 

 the larger museums. The style used in the great museums at Ber- 

 lin, Germany, and at Cambridge in this country differs from the one 

 described above in size, the outside dimensions being sixteen inches 

 by nineteen inches by three inches, and in construction, the corners 

 being both dovetailed and mitered, otherwise the two cases are the 

 same. The case used by the writer differs from that used at Berlin 

 and Cambridge only in having the bottom made of glass as well as 

 the top. 



The most essential feature of an insect case is that it shall be 

 tight so that museum pests can not enter. In the more common 

 insect cases the bottoms are of wood ; but it is extremely difficult 



