METHOD OF RELAXING DRIED INSECTS. 83 
ed by Mr Haworth for the larger moths at p. 80. They may 
also be killed sometimes by placing them under a tumbler and 
suffocating them, as recommended at p. 80. Some Entomo- 
logists put them in scalding water for an instant. 
The contents of the abdomen should always be removed | 
from Dragon Flies, otherwise it will become black and shining 
through the skin, and destroy the beautiful bands with which 
they are ornamented. They can be stuffed with cotton on a 
small roll of paper introduced. If these precautions are at- 
tended to, the insect will preserve the perfect beauty of its 
living state. 
The other species of these Orders soon die after being trans. 
fixed. They may be set by braces and pins, as represented in 
figures 3. and 4. of plate IV. 
Some of the Dipterous insects are very perishable in point 
of colour after death, particularly in the abdomen, the skin of | 
which is very thin. The only way of remedying this is to | 
pierce the abdomen, and afier taking out the contents the ca- 
vity should be filled with a powdered paint the same colour as | 
the living subjects, which will shine through and give it all the | 
appearance of nature. 
METHOD OF RELAXING DRIED INSECTS. 
Insects frequently get stiffened before the Entomologist has 
leisure to get them set ; and it usually happens that those sent | 
home from foreign countries have been ill set, and require to be | 
placed in more appropriate attitudes after they have fallen into © 
the hands of the scientific collector. They may be relaxed | 
and made as flexible as recently killed specimens by the fol- 
lowing simple process, from which they can receive no injury : 
pin them on a piece of cork and place the cork in a large basin 
or pan of tepid water, and cover the top tight with a damp 
cloth, taking care that it is sufficiently high not to injure the 
insects. In most cases a few hours is sufficient to restore thein 
to their original flexibility, so that they may be easily put in 
their proper positions. In some instances, three or four days 
are necessary to relax them thoroughly, so as to set the wings 
without the risk of breaking them; no force whatever must 
be used with any of the members. When set up after being 
