0f practical 



Considerable collections of insects may 

 now be sent in a box per post, for a small 

 sum of money, to all parts of the country ; 

 the box should be made of some light wood 

 or strong pasteboard, and when filled, it 

 ought to be farther protected from injury 

 by a layer of cotton. 



Store-boxes for general purposes should be 

 divided perpendicularly (t. e. when the hinges 

 are lying farthest from you) with pencil lines 

 half an inch apart, which is sufficient for the 

 majority of our insects ; but when a collec- 

 tion has been labelled, it is arranged in the 

 following manner : the larger species of Co- 

 leoptera, Orthoptera, and Hemiptera, are 

 arranged side by side, in pairs ; and several 

 specimens, according to their size, of the 

 smaller species, in a greater number, in a 

 row, and a single specimen with its wings 

 displayed below each species. Hymenoptera, 

 Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera: Insects 

 belonging to these orders are arranged singly, 

 placing the males first. Ketain four speci- 

 mens of each species of Butterfly ; two males 

 and two females, one of each set, in the na- 

 tural w_ay, and the other displaying the 

 under sides of the wings. After what has 

 been stated with regard to the mode of setting 

 insects belonging to the various orders, it is 

 easy to fix the relative width of the pencil 

 lines defining the columns, by simply mea- 

 suring the extent, covered by a pair of in- 

 sects, or one insect, as the case may be ; but, 

 on the other hand, the width between the 

 lines must be sufficient to receive the labels, 

 which must be written or printed with the 

 pen in a clear and distinct manner. Having 

 ascertained these points, proceed to mark off 

 the points of the columns with the compasses, 

 measuring along two straight lines parallel 

 to the upper and lower sides of the box 

 (looking towards the hinges), beginning in 

 each case at the left-hand side ; then connect 

 these points with pencil lines, using a correct 

 square which fits the bottom of the box. 



Labels are either written in a neat distinct 

 hand, or printed with the pen on slips of 

 paper. The name of the genus is placed at 

 the head of the column, and that of the spe- 

 cies below ; both are transfixed with a pin 

 through the centre, near the upper margin, 

 so as not to hide the writing on the label in 

 the least degree ; somewhat in this style 



j ANCHOMENUS, Bondli. \ for the genus ; 



I AN. PKAsimjs, Fab. j for the species : 



after the former, is given the name of its 

 illustrious founder Bonelli, of Turin, whilst 

 the species was established by Fabricius, one 

 of the princes of entomology. 



All collections of Insects must be kept dry ; 

 a supply of camphor, or a sponge saturated 

 with spirit of turpentine, must be kept in 

 each drawer, to ward off the attacks of mites, 

 &c. : should these harpies appear, which 

 will be known by a little dust lying below 

 the specimens, let them be well baked before 

 the fire, and afterwards saturated with spirit 

 of wine, and a little camphor in solution. 



SPIDERS. 



The sweeping-net brings to view many 

 beautiful species of these despised, but most 

 interesting creatures. No opportunity should 

 be lost of collecting them from amongst 

 grass and flowers, on low bushes and trees, 

 and walls and rocks ; or of studying their 

 wonderful economy, and making sketches of 

 their nets and nests. Put the insects into 

 spirits, take them out and lay them on 

 blotting paper to dry, and then transfix 

 them with a pin through the cephalo-thorax, 

 which corresponds with the thorax of insects, 

 and set their limbs in a natural position by 

 means of pins or needles. 



In the Zoologist for 1847 are given the fol- 

 lowing directions for the preparation of 

 Crustacea : " Crustacea : the large species 

 should be allowed to steep in fresh water till 

 their flesh becomes putrid and fluid ; the 

 specimen is then suspended or laid in dif- 

 ferent positions until the contents of its shell 

 have run off; and after being dried in a 

 draught, it is fit for the cabinet : the little Pin- 

 notheres, or Pea-crabs, should be plunged into 

 boiling water for two minutes. 



SHELLS AND MOLLUSCA. 



APPARATUS. A circular spoon made of 

 tin, 4 inches in diameter, with an upright 

 rim ha,lf an inch high, the bottom concave, 

 and pierced with numerous holes that will 

 only admit of the size of a pin's head, and 

 furnished with a socket pierced with three 

 or four holes, through which a string is 

 passed, to tie it to a walking stick : with 

 this the mud is scraped from the bottom of 

 ditches and pools, the water and mud filters 

 off, and the delicate shells are left in the 

 spoon. Three or four small sieves, of various 

 sizes, are useful for sifting shell sand, whether 

 procured on shore or by dredging. The 

 oyster-dredge is an excellent implement, but 

 it is very unhandy. The gangui used on 

 the coast of France may be shortly described 

 from Captain Brown's Taxidermy, p. 106. 

 It is simply a bag of strong net- work, 2 feet 

 in diameter and 2J feet in depth ; the mouth 

 is kept open by means of a stick placed hori- 

 zontally, and dividing the aperture into two 

 halves, the lower edge, which drags along 

 the bottom of the sea, is loaded with heavy 

 weights, which act as scrapers, and the upper 

 edge is furnished with corks, which help to 

 keep the mouth open. To prevent the tear 

 and wear of the lower part of the bag, it 

 should be protected externally by a piece of 

 untanned hide. 



In the Zoologist for 1847, page 1848., Mr. 

 Hepburn describes the light and portable 

 dredge invented by Mr. Ball, of Dublin, 

 and which can be readily hauled in by one 

 man with the assistance of one of the rowers 

 of the boat, when the bag is filled. 



" The figure represents the dredge mounted 

 and prepared for action ; the two scrapers, 

 A B C D and A B C D, are each 20 inches in 

 length, by two inches in breadth ; parallel 

 with their lower edges, C D and C D, about 

 fourteen holes, equi-distant from each other, 

 are pierced to receive the laces of the bag, 



