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METHOD OF BREEDING INSECTS. 69 
hogany or wainscot ; sometimes they are constructed of cedar- 
wood, but seldom of deal, or any other soft wood. Small cells 
| taust be made in the inside of the fronts, for camphor. 
Corxine of Drawers. The simplest way to get the cork is 
to purchase it of a cork-cutter, ready prepared, but it will be 
much cheaper for the Entomologist to prepare it himself. In 
| this case, it shculd be cut into stripes, of about three inches 
| wide, with a cork-cutter’s knife, to smooth the surface and to 
divide it. The stripes should be fixed in a vice, and cut to the 
thickness required with a fine saw; but grease must not be 
used in the operation, as it will not only prevent the cork from 
adhering to the bottom of the drawer, but will also grease the 
paper which should be pasted on its surface. The black surface 
of the cork should be rasped down to a smooth surface. After 
having reduced the slips to about three quarters of an inch in 
thickness, the darkest, or worst, side of each slip should be 
glued down to a sheet of brown, or cartridge, paper; this 
should be laid on a deal board, about three feet in length, and 
the width required for a drawer or box; a few fine nails, or 
brads, must be driven through each piece of cork, to keep it 
firm and in its place, until the glue be dried: by this means, 
sheets of cork may be formed the size of the drawer. All 
the irregularities are filed or rasped down quite to a level 
surface, and then polished smooth with pumice-stone. The 
sheet, thus formed and finished, is glued into the drawers. 
To prevent its warping, some weights must be equally distri- 
buted over the cork, that it may adhere firmly to the bottom 
of the drawer. When quite dry, the weights are removed, 
and the cork covered with fine white paper, but not very thick. 
The paper is allowed to be quite damp with the paste be- 
fore it is placed on the cork, and, when dry, it will become 
perfectly tight. 
_ Insect cabinets should be kept in a very dry situation, other- 
wise the antenne, legs, &c., will become quite mouldy. The 
same evil will ensue if the insect is not perfectly dry, before it 
is placed in the cabinet. Should an insect be covered with 
mould, it can be washed off with a camel’s hair pencil, dipped 
in camphorated spirits of wine; in which case, the insect 
must be dried in a warm or airy situation, before being placed 
in the cabinet. 
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