SEPTEMBER 



48 



with staples or by winding round with wire. By means 



of carpet thread, a net of mosquito netting, preferably 



green or brown, a foot and a half 



long, may be sewn to the rim. 

 When caught, the locusts should 



be placed in a glass or soap-box vi- 

 varium, in the bottom of which 



there is good moist earth. The}' 



are enormous eaters, and should 



have a plentiful supply of fresh 



grass every day. Remove those 



that die, and mount one of them 



with the wings spread. For this 



purpose a " setting board " will be 



useful. This may be made by nail- 

 ing or glueing two pieces of bev- 



elled-edged board or cork on a level piece of board, so 



that there is a half-inch groove between. In this groove 

 the body rests while the wings are 

 stretched and kept in place for a few 

 days with narrow strips of paper. If 

 the insect has just died, there will be 

 no troul)le in doing this, but if he has 

 been dead a day or so, it is safer to 

 soften the wing joints by putting the 

 locust in a piece of paper on moist 

 sand for twenty-four or forty-eight 

 hours. 



Let those children who will bring 

 a tumbler or, better, a preserving jar 



with earth in the bottom and netting across the top, have 



a few locusts for themselves. 



Let the children answer such questions as these : What 



Setting board. Swal- 

 low-tail Butterfly. 



