THE SETTING-BOARD 183 



least half an inch beneath the body. Special 

 pins are sold for the purpose, but any thin 

 pin will suffice. 



You must either purchase or make a 

 setting-board. One may be made of a 

 piece of soft wood of convenient length, 

 3 inches broad, f-inch thick, and with a 

 groove J-inch wide and J-inch deep ploughed 

 down the centre. The groove should be 

 made wider for stouter-bodied specimens. Its 

 purpose is to ensure that the point of the 

 pin will be at least half an inch below the 

 outspread wings. Were it not for this, 

 the insect might quite well be set on a 

 flat piece of cork or wood ; but then the 

 pin would protrude only a short distance 

 beyond the body, and the specimen, when 

 placed in the collection, would rest on the 

 bottom of the drawer or box, which is 

 undesirable. Consequently, if you cannot 

 get a grooved setting-board (as often happens 

 when one is from home), a flat board may 

 be used, provided you first bore a hole for 

 each pin at least half an inch deep. Thus the 

 point of the pin will be well into the board, 

 when the wings rest horizontally upon it. 



