20 NATURALISTS’ ASSISTANT. 
insects. It is not necessary to detail the method of using it, 
as any one will readily find out for himself. 
For collecting stinging insects a pair of forceps, fig. 6, made 
of wire, the distal extremities of which are bent into broad 
blades covered with netting, will prove very convenient, es- 
pecially as there is no danger of being stung. The bee or 
other insects are caught between the blades while resting on a 
flower, and while a prisoner is pinned ; and then, the blades 
being opened, the pin is readily drawn from the meshes of 
the netting. 
An umbrella is indispensable in collecting certain forms of 
insects. It is held spread open 
in an inverted position beneath 
the branches of some tree or 
shrub, then the foliage is beaten 
with a stick, and the insects 
Fic. 6. 
drop and are caught. ‘This is 
especially valuable for collecting certain Coleoptera, Spiders, 
Microlepidoptera, Psocide, etc. 
For killing insects the most convenient plan is to take a 
wide-mouthed bottle and place in the bottom a piece of cya- 
nide of potassium (a dangerous poison). ‘Then some plaster 
of Paris is mixed to a stiff paste with water and poured 
over the cyanide. The plaster soon sets and holds the 
chemical firmly, while its porosity allows the fumes of prussic 
acid to pass readily into the vacant portion of the bottle. 
The bottle after thus being prepared should be allowed to 
stand open for a day to allow the moisture from the plaster 
