THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



0?f THE PRESERVATION OK EXTOMOLO(U('A[, 

 CABINETS. 



[ Fruiii :lic Am 



I luivc tried at various times many exiicri- 

 inciits for tlic |ii-cs(.'r\;itioii iil' collections of in- 

 sects, bill with" sni'li limited Mireess that I did 

 not tliiuk the re>idls olilained worth publishing:-. 

 For the sake of dcleirini; oibcvs IVoiu pursuin.u' 



these dilVerei 

 would be u> 

 eount of ni\ 



iii-Hrrc->iul attempts, it 

 i|i-. lo ,i;ive a brief ac- 

 i loic (leMribing a pro- 

 ihieh seems to be botli 



C'oiio-iM' -uMiinalc and various preparations 

 of iirsiiii. h-nc liccn recommended by several 

 bij;h autiioiitifs. The former, even wlien most 

 diluted, will tiiially render the pin brittle by tlie 

 anialfjuni developed; the latter, wlicn used in a 

 very weak aleoholie solution so as to leave no 

 cffloi'csence on tlie -pi' inun-. will preserve 

 them well, but it is ti onMc-ouic to apply, as the 

 insects must bo tllo^oll^lll\ -i.aked witb the 

 fluid before beiii;;- i.jarcd in llii' laliinet. Binar- 



Seniatc ol' pola— a brim;- ili'li(|Ur-rrllt, sug'- 

 gested il^rll lo nir a- a material ihal miglit be 

 applieil in !4icai(r -t rciii^i li, and many xcars atro 

 I prepared two ho\i'- ol -iiccimcn- with it. 

 Tlievhadauoo.l aii|i.'aianr,. lor-ome lime, and 

 have never lieni allark,,!. l,ui rvcntually a ron- 

 siderablf (li|in-i( or ( illoiv-cciice came on the 

 surface, -o I hat the -iMcimen- na|uired cleaning 



Paintini; the iuierior uf the boxes witli arsen- 

 ious arid «aN al<o only partially successful ; I 

 have seen, ihouuli not often, living larv;e of 

 Trof/inlcniii! in boxes thus prepared. 



Having thus failed in iinding any satisfactory 

 mineral " poison I then tried the vegetable 

 alkaloids. 



I soaked specimens in moderately strong al- 

 coholic solutions of strychnia and picrotoxia, 

 dried tliera, and put them into pill boxes with 

 Troyoderma larv:r. After some weeks the 

 specimens were iiarlly eaten, and the larvas 

 transformed into ]ierferi insects. 



The etlects of benzini' and carbolic acid are 

 powerful, but only (emporary. The former is 

 preferable on account of its "less disagreeable 

 odor, and may be used by pouring about a tea- 

 spoonful In each box ; it must be renewed every 

 four or five months. 



Packing the collection in chests painted Avith 

 coal-tar has been also recommended, and would 

 certainly be efficient, but troublesome, and ren- 

 ders the eolleetion, inactieally, nearly useless 

 for study, on aeeonni ol' the difficulty of access 

 to the boxes. Sm ei,al art has, however, given 

 to us an instrnnjenl iiy w liii-h a jioisonou* lic|nid 



the entire surlariMitlarne iiiinilier< (if -|ieeimen- 

 as they stand in the cahiin'i boxe^. without the 

 trouble of niovini^- them. 1 reler to tlic .l/«;;i/.:t/-. 

 Opinionsniay var>- as i(. ihe nature of the liipiid 

 poison to be u<e(l, but afier several trials I havi.' 

 tound the following forniuia to be quite satis- 

 factory; it produces no efflorescence, even on 

 the most highly polished species, while the odor 



is (juite strong, and persistent enough to destroy 

 any larvae or eggs that may be already in the 

 box: 



Saturated alcoholic solution of arsenious acid, 

 i'ii;ht lluid ounces; Sirychniuc, twelve grains; 

 Crx slallized eaibolie acid, one drachm ; Mineral 

 naiihliia (or heavy ben/.ine) and Strong alcohol. 



>li-lil exielil. The.,, -hoiil.l not l,e n>ed.' The 



lleaviel- oils whiel, mi\ i m ie li 1 1 i I e 1 ^ W i I ll alcohol 



mixlinv ten to twelve llnid onm-e> of the miphtha 

 will bo sufficient. 



Care should be taken to test the naphtha on a 

 piece of paper. If it leaves a greasy stain 

 which does not disappear after a few hours, it is 

 not suitable for this purpose. 



The best form of atomizer is the long, plated, 

 reversible tube; it should bo w<H-ked with a 

 gum elastic pi]ie. Iiavini; two bulbs to socure 

 nniforinit) in the em leni . 'Ihe atomizing glass 

 tubes and the Imiile whieh n-ually accompany 

 the appaialit- aic iiiine'cessary : a common nar- 

 row-necked two ounce bottle will serve per- 

 fectly to hold the lluid. 



T trust thai the u-e of the moans here indicated 

 ma\ i-endcf the luc-efvation of insect collec- 

 li..n> le- ti-..ulile-..me ilian hereiolore, and thus 

 inei-ea-e the inti'ic-l of .ainaleiifs who fre- 

 iliicjUly become disj;iislc(l with the science 

 of entomology, by seeing the results of years 

 ot active and intelligent labor destroyed by 

 a few months of iinittention, or by careless- 

 ness in introducing infected specimens. 



KIbLIXG APPLE-WORMS BY jMAOHISERY. 



The world certainly moves! Men are con- 

 stantly making discoveries, which though trivial 

 in themselves, greatly benefit their fellow-men. 

 The hay-band remedy against the Apple-worm 

 (Carpocapsa pomoneUa, Linn.) is an excellent 

 one, but we arc obliged to seek for the worms 

 which spin up under it, and crush each one 

 separately. Mr. D. N. Brown, an enterprising 

 fruit-grower of St. Joseph, Mich., has however 

 devised a plan of slaughtering them bv whole- 

 sale, which commends itt;elf to the good sense 

 of every apple-grower. Here it is, as given in 

 a late number of the St. Joseph Herald, by our 

 friend and correspondent, L. P. Haskell of that 

 place : 



nt an or.-lianl .l,„vs tlie -aine tlini-. Tlinv imi-f I,,, runted 

 effort. Let every man (eel it liis ihUvto ur-e jiis iu-i?li- 

 lior to .act at once and persisteatly, remembering that, 

 'eternal vigilance is the price oC^— good fruit.''' 



