Xll 



you justice. Many parts of the cabinet are not visible from the exterior, and it 

 is almost impossible to persuade a tradesman to use good and seasoned wood for 

 those parts which are not exposed to sight. It is therefore absolutely necessary 

 to inspect the work while in progress, to examine the wood, and ascertain that 

 it is thoroughly seasoned; if thft wood retains any sap it is of no use, as it 

 invariably warps, and thus prevents the drawers from moving, and the cabinet 

 becomes useless. Nothing but the best mahogany must be used : a great variety 

 of wood has been tried, particularly a kind of resinous cedar, which has a colour 

 and a grain much resembling mahogany, but which is far worse for cabinets 

 than the most resinous dealj after the cabinet has been a short time built, it 

 will become saturated with resin, and all the insects it contains will be speedily 

 spoiled. Other cheap woods are also much in use, and are veneered in front 

 with mahogany, and the parts which are exposed on taking out a drawer, are 

 smeared over with a brownish composition, to keep up the deception. A cabinet 

 should consist of two tiers of drawers, fifteen or twenty in each tier: if the 

 number be fifteen only, there is abundance of room for a book-case to stand above 

 them, which is not only convenient, but has an agreeable effect. The drawers should 

 be enclosed in front by folding doors, all the edges of which must be carefully 

 covered with velvet; by this precaution dust is effectually excluded. Each drawer 

 should be from fifteen to eighteen inches square and two inches deep, and should 

 be covered with thin slices of very soft cork ; these slices are glued together at 

 the edges, and fastened to the bottom of the drawer by small tacks and glue, 

 the tacks, or rather brads, being without heads. When the cork is secured, its 

 surface must be made perfectly smooth, by rubbing it with pumice-stone, and 

 the whole is then neatly covered with white paper, the paper being pasted on 

 the cork. It will be found that the cork permits the pin on which an insect is 

 placed to pass into it with the greatest facility, and yet is sufficiently elastic 

 to retain it steadily in its place. Each drawer must be covered by a pane of 

 the best flatted glass, carefully fixed with putty in a square frame, and the frame 

 nicely fitted to the drawer, thus insuring the exclusion of any dust that may have 

 passed the folding doors. 



A cabinet made on this plan is, of course, very expensive : it is out of the 

 question to get a cheap one; the materials are dear, and the cost of putting 

 them together is very great, and there are few, very few, cabinet-makers who 

 understand it. I have seen the cabinets made by three only. The price of a cabinet 

 thoroughly well made is a guinea a drawer : it is worth no man's while to maka 

 one for less. It seems, and indeed it is, a great deal of money, but the real 

 test of the raatter is, " Will anyone make it for less ? " and it is a fact worthy 

 of consideration that really well-made cabinets, when sold second-hand by 

 Mr. J. C. Stovers, of King Street, 'ealise the original cost, or very nearly 

 so, and sometimes even more; so that a really good insect cabinet is something 



