MODE OF DISSECTING BEETLES. 13 



intending entomologist should content himself with merely 

 learning a string of names by rote, he must expect to find his 

 lesson a hard and repulsive one, and that it will be forgotten 

 almost as soon as learned. Practical knowledge is ever the 

 best, and the reader who intends to become an entomologist 

 should take some Beetle — the largest he can find — and com- 

 pare it, piece by piece, with the figures and descrijDtion. 



The most efifective plan of all, however, is to take the Beetle 

 entirely to pieces, and to lay out the portions on a card in 

 their proper order, numbering each piece, and writing an 

 index to the numbers. The various portions can be fixed to 

 the card by diamond cement or Kay's coaguliue, the latter 

 having the advantage of great holding power, so that a very 

 little is required, perfect transparency, and sufficient elasticity 

 to guard against the tendency to chip away from the object, 

 which is so unpleasant in ordinary gum. I recommend taking 

 two Beetles, so as to show the upper and under sides of each 

 portion. This will be found peculiarly interesting in the 

 thorax. 



Before any attempt at dissecting the Beetle it should be 

 steeped in soft water for a time, until the soft parts are 

 thorpughly dissolved. The water should then be poured away, 

 and fresh water substituted until the whole of the muscles and 

 viscera have been washed away. Care must be taken lest any of 

 the smaller joints be lost during this process. When the whole 

 skeleton is fairly laid out, it can be mounted in a glass frame, 

 and, besides serving as an infallible guide to the external ana- 

 tomy of the Beetle, it is really a pretty and ornamental object. 

 Many years ago, when I first began the study of entomology, 

 I thus prepared several Beetles, and the knowledge thus gained 

 has never been lost. Had I studied books alone, I should 

 not have been able to gain the information half so easily, or to 

 have retjiined it half as long. 



