HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY. 37 



CHAPTER V. 



HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY AN APOLOGY A TEST FOB LUNACY 

 CHARGE OF CRUELTY AGAINST ENTOMOLOGISTS THEIR JUSTI- 

 FICATION ATTEMPTED PAINLESS DEATH CHLOROFORM 

 SETTING BUTTERFLIES CABINETS AND STORE BOXES CLASSIFI- 

 CATION LATIN NAMES SAVING TIME AND MONEY. 



HAVING complied with the old adage, "First catch 

 your hare/' the next point naturally is how to cook it. 

 So, having caught our butterfly, what are we to do with 

 him ? a question that generally resolves itself firstly 

 into 



HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY. 



This truculent sentence may, I fear, look like a blot 

 on the page to some tender-hearted reader, and, in 

 truth, this killing business is the one shadow on the 

 otherwise sunshiny picture, which we would all gladly 

 leave out, were it possible to preserve a butterfly's 

 beauty alive ; but this cannot be done, and yet we have 

 made up our minds to possess that beauty to collect 

 butterflies, in short ; there is but one way for it, and 

 so a butterfly's pleasure must be shortened for a few 

 days, to add to our pleasure and instruction, perhaps for 

 years after. 



In the time of the great Bay, in such mean repute 

 was the science of entomology held, mainly, I believe, 

 on account of the small size of its objects, that an action 

 at law was brought to set aside the will of an estimable 

 woman, Lady Glanville, on the ground of insanity -, the 

 only symptom of which that they could bring forward 

 in evidence was her fondness for collecting insects ! 



