246 INSECTS; 



changing the spirit just before sending), or else 

 the same or following day taken out and soaked 

 for about a quarter of an hour in warm water, 

 and then laid on blotting-paper a few hours to 

 dry : after that, either pin and stick in tight in a 

 well-made box, lined with cork or some soft 

 wood, or else (if in a dry country) lay carefully 

 in rows, in a box, on cotton wool: numbers may 

 be packed this way in layers, between soft paper, 

 and generally reach England in beautiful condi- 

 tion. The small beetles may also be collected 

 and sent in the same way, and, if immersed in 

 spirit, put in a separate bottle from the large 

 ones ; or else when captured put into a phial with 

 some blotting-paper, and killed on reaching home, 

 by immersing it in hot or boiling water for a 

 minute or two, or placing it in the heat of the 

 sun for a short time : they can then either be 

 pinned or else packed in soft paper in rows and 

 layers, as the others, and should not be despised 

 on account of their small size, as they are fre- 

 quently more valuable than the larger ones. 



