208 REMARKS ON THE PRESERVATION 



neglect in keeping up a poisoned atmosphere, th< 

 specimens collected by industry, and prepared bj 

 art, and which ought to live, as it were, for the ad- 

 miration of future ages, may fall a prey to an in- 

 truding and almost invisible enemy ; so that unless 

 the solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol is ap- 

 plied, you are never perfectly safe from surprise 

 I have tried a decoction of aloes, wormwood, and 

 walnut leaves, thinking they would be of service 

 on account of their bitterness : the trial completely 

 failed. Wherefore I venture to recommend not to 

 put much trust in simples. 



' Contra vim mortis, non est medicamen in hortis/ 



' Against the deadly moth, can I, 

 From herbs, no remedy supply.' " 



METHOD OF TRANSPORTING INSECTS. 



The plan described by Levaillant in his Traveli 

 in Africa, for the preservation of his entomologica 

 collections, is the following: Boxes or chests care- 

 fully made of light wood, of a convenient portable 

 size, are provided with partitions and moveable 

 shelves, each consisting of a simple board ; these 

 are fitted, at the distance of two inches one from 

 another, in grooves in the sides of the box, in 

 which they are made to slide with accuracy and 

 facility, and are therefore removable at pleasure. 



