INSECTS 3 



Dry specimens may be relaxed by placing a quantity of sand or 

 crumpled paper in a battery jar or other wide-mouthed receptacle 

 that can be tightly covered. Wet the sand or paper thoroughly 

 and then sprinkle over it a little dry sand or cover with blotting- 

 paper. 



Put in the dried butter- 

 flies about twenty-four 

 hours before they are to 

 be spread, and cover the 

 dish. If the relaxing jar 

 is kept in a warm place, 

 the process will be has- FIG 3 _ Ingect spreading ^^ 



tened, but care should be 



taken not to leave the insects in the moist chamber long enough 

 for mold to grow upon them. It is of course better to mount the 

 butterflies as soon as they are killed. 



4. Insect boxes. A box for displaying a butterfly for class 

 study may be made as described below by any fourteen-year-old 

 boy; these cases will preserve the insects from year to year, thus 

 saving labor as well as insuring good material that pupils can 

 examine from both sides. The boxes may likewise be used as cages 

 for the study of the activities of live grasshoppers, caterpillars, 

 or other insects. After butterflies have been studied they should 

 be transferred to an insect case or other moth-proof box, a piece of 

 cotton soaked in carbon bisulphide should be inserted, and the box 

 kept tightly closed till the butterflies are again needed. " Chiclet " 

 boxes, since they have glass covers, may be used for storing and dis- 

 playing the insect collections that may be made by pupils. A layer 

 of absorbent cotton over the bottom of the box makes a good back- 

 ground (Fig. 4) . 



To make the insect boxes, secure from a mill or a local carpenter 

 strips of wood 1\ inches wide and \ inch thick, with grooves \ inch 

 wide and \ inch deep, cut a quarter of an inch from the two margins 

 of one side. About 18 inches will be required for each box. For the 

 sides saw up two pieces each 5 inches long, and for the ends the 



