378 



INSECT MISCELLANIES. 



free ventilation of air till the set insects are thoroughly 

 dry ; but it is necessary that it be also out of the 

 reach of spiders ; for we have in several instances 

 had our specimens, while drying, mutilated and de- 

 stroyed by these prowlers. The most convenient 

 apparatus is an upright box, with grooves, into which 

 the setting-boards may slide, with the door and the 

 side of the box opposite to it covered with gauze. 



Setting-board frame. 



No other preservative is wanted, after the insects 

 are set and dried, except to keep them from damp, 

 to put a little camphor in the cabinet-drawers to 

 prevent rnites, and to take care to prevent them from 

 being destroyed by the larvae of some small moths and 

 beetles, which the camphor will not do, rior anything 

 else with which we are acquainted. We had once 

 a whole drawer of insects destroyed by mice. Glazing 

 the drawers of a cabinet, and occasional careful in- 

 spection, will be indispensable to keep a collection 

 in good condition. 



The cabinet may consist of more or fewer drawers, 

 according to the extent of a collection. The most 

 convenient dimensions of the drawers are from a 

 foot to eighteen inches square, and two inches deep ; 

 and the best wood is mahogany, cedar, or wainscot, 



