200 



THE AMEEICAN 



the amateur. These singular resemblances are 

 called mimetic forms ; and, existing everywhere 

 in Nature, even if they have no high significance 

 and serve no better purpose, educate our per- 

 ceptive powers to a degree undreamed of by the 

 careless horde of money worshippers. 



During the active seasou of the insect year 

 the collector should make it a rule never to stir 

 abroad without a cork-stoppered vial half filled 

 with alcohol, for the temporary deposit of 

 beetles, ants, or the larvse or pupaa of any in- 

 sects that it may be desirable to preserve in this 

 way. The only insects that are irrecoverably 

 injured by a few days immersion in pure alco- 

 hol are the Butterflies and Moths. For these a 

 small coik or pith-lined pocket box, of conveni- 

 ent form and full one inch and a half in depth, 

 containing a few insect pins of various sizes, is 

 indispensable, and should be a constant com- 

 panion. Upon a premeditated excursion of a 

 day or more in duration, the collector will 

 naturally provide more extensive means of 

 transportation, such as jars of alcohol, a vial of 

 chloroform, a number of old envelopes, and a 

 larger box slung on the side with straps, and a 

 proportionate stock of pins. Some collectors 

 continually carry, in a pocket made for the 

 purpose, a wide-mouthed vial like a chemist's 

 test-tube, "of the same size all the way up," 

 containing at the bottom a few grains of cyanide 

 of potassium, which is kept iu place by a wad 

 of cottou, felt or thick cloth, neatly pressed 

 down upon it. (See Fig. 122.) This prevents 

 the cyanide, which is a deadly poison, from 

 touching or soiling any delicate insect, and 

 allows the powerful vapor to destroy, as it does 

 almost instantly, the life of any insect that may 

 be enclosed in the prepared vial. The per- 

 manence of this poison (its virtue enduring for a 

 twelvemonth or more) , its cleanliness and cheap- 

 ness, render it perhaps the most convenient and 

 desirable " Hfe-anuihilator." It is, perhaps, un- 

 necessary to mention that the vial cng. 123.] 

 should be kept tightly corked, and 

 that the insect should remain 

 therein not much more or less than 

 teu minutes. A vial one inch in 

 diameter and four in length, made 

 of strong glass, is the most desir- 

 able size. Some collectors carry a 

 small vial of chloroform, through 

 the cork of which passes a very 

 small tube of metal ; what is called 

 by jewellers " hollow wire," of 

 minute aperture, is used for this 

 purpose. (See Fig. 123.) This 

 instrument is used for conveying a limited 



quantity of chloroform to the spiracles of 

 the insect, without deluging and damaging 

 much of its plumage, if furnished therewith. 

 Ether, as well as chloroform, is sometimes 

 used in lieu of the cyanide, but it has to be 

 continually supplied from another reservoir. 

 In some countries bruised laurel leaves are 

 placed in the bottom of the vial, or a small 

 packet of them pinned in a corner of the collect- 

 ing-box, enclosed in a little bag or wisp of 

 loosely woven cloth, such as lace, book-muslin, 

 &c. All of these poisons act at tirst only as 

 anesthetics, or stupefiers, and should be con- 

 tinued in use sufficiently long to destroy vitality, 

 or to prevent the struggles of the insect; for by 

 these struggles it injures itself, as well as its 

 companions, after being pinned in the collecting 

 box. 



NOTES AND EXPERIMENTS ON CURRANT WORMS. 



BY W. SAUNDEBS, LONDON, ONT . 



The larva of JSfe7natus ventricosus, alas, too 

 well known under the popular designation of 

 " currant worm," has been very abundant in this 

 neighborhood during the present season. In my 

 own garden it has been a continual fight as to 

 who should have the currant and gooseberry 

 bushes, the worms or their rightful owner. Du- 

 ring the early part of summer, anticipating their 

 attack, I was on the lookout for them and by- 

 timely doses of hellebore preserved the foliage 

 with but little damage. In about a fortnight 

 later, having (Hiiiiici! iii<)H'r(iiiii for a few days, 

 I was surprised in I'md tlic lin-lir< licing stripped 

 again; and this time llir mi'iiiy had got so far 

 ahead as to damage their appearance consid- 

 ei-ably. Another prompt dosing of hellebore 

 brought relief. After this I hardly ever found 

 all the bushes entirely free from them ; a walk 

 around the garden would reveal a few here and 

 a few there, and I was perpetually hand-kill- 

 ing and brushing off these smaller detachments. 

 Four times during the season I found it neces- 

 sary to apply hellebore freely, for the foes were 

 a legion. 



During the middle of August, being occupied 

 with other matters, the garden was neglected 

 for a few days, when on visiliim ii .luain <>n the 

 19th, I found many of the Im-lie- entirely leaf- 

 less, and the foliage remaining; en the ndiers was 

 rapidly disappearing. I foil di-ennrai^cd and 

 began to have some misgiving as in wliether 

 hellebore was after all such an unfailing panacea 

 for this almost universal pest as we had sup- 

 posed. I resolved if possible to satisfy myself 

 fully on this point, and having mixed about IJ 



