The Capture, Preparation, and Preservation of Specimens 



holds the pin securely fixed in the moth-ball. In attaching these 

 pins to moth-balls, hold the pin securely in a forceps while heat- 

 ing it in the flame of the lamp, and thrust the red-hot pin into the 

 center of the ball. Naphthaline crystals and camphor may be se- 

 cured in the corner of the box by tying up a quantity of them in 

 a small piece of netting and pinning the little bag thus made in the 

 corner of the tray. By following these directions insect pests may 

 be kept out of collections. It is proper to observe that while car- 

 bon bisulphide is more useful even than chloroform in killing 

 pests, and is also cheaper, it should be used with great care, be- 

 cause when mixed with atmospheric air it is highly explosive, 

 and its use should never take place where there are lamps burn- 

 ing or where there is fire. Besides, its odor is extremely unpleas- 

 ant, unless it has been washed in mercury. 



Greasy Specimens. Specimens occasionally become greasy. 

 When this happens they may be cleansed by pinning them down 

 on a piece of cork secured to the bottom of a closed vessel, and 

 gently filling it with benzine, refined gasoline, or ether. After 

 leaving them long enough to remove all the grease they may be 

 taken out of the bath and allowed to dry in a place where there 

 is no dust. This operation should not take place near a lighted 

 lamp or a fire. 



Mould. When specimens have become mouldy or mildewed 

 it is best to burn them up if they can be spared. If not, after 

 they have been thoroughly dried remove the mould with a sable 

 or camel's-hair pencil which has been rubbed in carbolic acid (crys- 

 tals liquefied by heat). Mildew in a cabinet is hard to eradicate, 

 and heat, even to burning, is about the only cure, except the 

 mild use of carbolic acid in the way suggested. 



Repairing Specimens. Torn and ragged specimens are to be 

 preferred to none at all. " The half of a loaf is better than no 

 bread." Until the torn specimen can be replaced by a better, it 

 is always well to retain it in a collection. But it is sometimes 

 possible to repair torn specimens in such a way as to make them 

 more presentable. If an antenna, for instance, has been broken 

 off, it may be replaced neatly, so that only a microscopic exami- 

 nation will disclose the fact that it was once away from the place 

 where it belonged. If a wing has been slit, the rent may be 

 mended so neatly that only a very careful observer can detect the 

 fact. If a piece has been torn out of a wing, it may be replaced 



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