COLLECTION OF INSECTS. 69 



Over this fit a piece of writing paper. Then pour over all 

 half an inch of liquid plaster-of -Paris. This will quickly 

 harden, forming' a smooth floor, on which any insect 

 when dropped, will quickly and quietly die. 



The jar must be labeled poison, and must be kept 

 closed with an air-tight cover. 



A collecting-case can be made of any light, shallow 

 box, by lining it with cork, and affixing stra.ps by which 

 it may be slung around the neck. Compartments may 

 be made in it, for the cyanide and chloroform bottles, for 

 forceps, insects-pins, envelopes, etc. Having got your 

 insects home, they must be carefully mounted. You 

 should have several 'setting-boards.' These are simply 

 thin boards, grooved at intervals so as to admit the bodies 

 of moths and butterflies, in such a way that their wings 

 may be flat on the board. Strips of ; cork may be glued 

 along the bottom of the grooves to receive the pins. 



Pin your specimens in a groove of proper depth, and 

 spread the wings carefully with your forceps, or with 

 needles set in wooden handles. 



Fasten them by laying strips of glass over them, or 

 by pinning strips of paper across them. They should 

 be allowed to dry for a week or two according to size. 

 The bodies of large lepidoptera should be brushed with a 

 solution of corrosive sublimate, one-half drachm; ar- 

 senic, four grains; alcohol, one-half pint. This is, of 

 course, very poisonous, and should be so labeled and 

 treated. 



If your insects have become dry and brittle, they 

 must be relaxed before you attempt to mount them. 

 This may be done by laying them on wet sand, but 

 Mr. Neumogen, who has one of the largest collections 

 in the world, places such specimens in a small tin box 

 provided with a cork bottom. The cork is dampened, and 



