TAXIDERMY. 9? 



hand, so that the ring which carries the net is per- 

 pendicular ; we take the pocket in the left hand, 

 gently force the butterfly to the bottom of the 

 pocket, then with the thumb and first finger of 

 the right hand, we press the breast of the butterfly, 

 that is, the place whence the wings proceed, taking 

 care not to injure them. The butterfly will then 

 fall half dead into our left hand ; we pierce the 

 thorax with a pin proportioned to its size, and pin 

 it into the hunting box. 



We will now describe a second net, like the first 

 in form, only the iron is stronger, and the pocket, 

 instead of being of fine, is made of coarse gauze. 

 This net is for fishing in the small rivers and stag- 

 nant waters, which contain an infinity of insects of 

 the greatest interest, and which the greater part of 

 travelling naturalists have hitherto neglected, for 

 want of the means of catching them. They are 

 very simple ; they consist in dipping the net to the 

 bottom of the water, even into the mud ; we then 

 move it from side to side, to wash away the dirt 

 which it contains, observing, that the pocket must 

 always be in an opposite direction to that in which 

 we strike the net. 



We then take the insects, one after the other, 

 stick them by the wing cases (elytra), in such a man- 

 ner, that the pin passes underneath, between the 

 first pair of feet, and the intermediate ones. We 

 ought generally to pin all coleoptem in this way. 

 F 



