PREPARATIONS FOR A CABINET. 21 
take to suppose that a collection need be slovenly in order to be 
scientific. Science should be made attractive, and the beauty of 
which Nature is so lavish should not all be driven from our mu- 
seums. Old curiosity shops for the storage of objects of natural 
history should give place to magnificent buildings devoted to the 
display of the rarest and most beautiful which Nature produces. 
I will make no further excuse, therefore, for introducing my inven- 
tion to the reader’s notice, for, outside of my personal interest in the 
matter, it is the only practical way known to me of mounting a col- 
lection of lepidopterous insects. 
Let us suppose, then, that the collector has been out with the net 
and has brought in an assortment of butterflies for the beginning of 
a collection. These may be spread either when fresh, or, which is 
simpler, may be placed in collecting papers and allowed to dry, and 
when a number are procured, softened in the relaxing-box and then 
spread. This latter method is preferable in many ways, the most 
important being that the specimens having once been dried will dry 
again very quickly, twenty-four hours usually being sufficient to 
render them rigid, while if the insects are spread in a fresh state they 
may require from four days to two weeks to dry thoroughly. 
THE RELAXING-BOX. 
To make one, use a tight box, one foot square and five inches 
deep, with a hinged cover; paint it inside and out with three coats 
of house paint, and when thoroughly dry put into it two inches of 
wet sawdust pressed down flat. Make a light wooden frame to fit 
the inside of the box, stretch netting over it and secure it with two 
or three brads an inch above the sawdust. When this is all ready 
place the dried insects on the net, and in twenty-four hours they will 
be soft enough to spread without breaking. The success of this 
method depends on having a tight box. The net on the frame does 
not allow the insects to come in direct contact with the wet sawdust, 
but they absorb enough moisture to render them pliable and are not 
hable to become too wet. Silk veiling makes an excellent article to 
use on the frame in place of the net, as it is soft and fine. Water 
should be added to the sawdust whenever it becomes too dry. A 
small quantity of powdered alum put into the water will prevent the 
sawdust from becoming mouldy. 
