- ' ■ ■••• -• ■•-■■••• •' • • --- 



A A 



FIRST HINTS ON COLLECTING BUTTERFLIES. 117 



set' specimens. When packed away in collecting cases they cannot ordinarily be 

 made to overhp, and this is a very important point for Indian collectors, who 

 generally wish to pack up their collections as closely as possible, to send home. 

 The " continental" setting board is flat, and is either made with a great 

 thickness of cork, or in the manner I am going to describe. The drawback to 

 the " continental, method,'' pure and simple, is that continental entomological 

 pins are too long for the depth of the drawers in the ordinary English-made 

 cabinet, and owing to their length the finer qualities are very apt to get 

 bent. The important point, however, is to have at least half an inch of pin 

 protecting on the underside of the specimen, and personally I like to see as 

 little pin on the upperside as is practicable. 



The most preferable method is to use English pins and continental setting 

 boards. 



In Fig. 2 is shown one end of the kind of setting board I mean. It consists 

 of two long strips of deal or other soft wood (AA) attached at the ends to legs 



such as (BB ). (CC ) is a smalt 



A A_ projecting foot to the leg by 



means of which the board may 



be slid into a groove in the 



setting case. A small space is 



left between the two strips 



(AA.)and on their underside a 



Fig. 2. strip of cork is glued across it. 



The body of the insect is placed in the spaci or groove between the (AA.) 



strips and its pin can pass right through the cork into the space below sii;ce 



the board is supported on two legs and the insect can thus be set as high on 



the pin as the height of the legs (BB.). 



I do not think boards like these can be had readymade anywhere but the 

 vSociety's carpenter has made me two aetting-cases on this principle quite as 

 well finished as the English-made model shown to him for a very reason- 

 able price and is doubtless open to further orders. 



The next requisite is entomological pins. There are only two makeis of 

 whom I have any experience, vis., D. E. Tayler & Co. and Kirby. I will not 

 giv? either the advertisement of a preference here but will only remark that 

 for some reason — probably the terms of commission— dealers do not, as a rule, 

 stock Tayler's pins and if you Avant them you must write direct to the facte iy 

 in Birmingham. Kirby's pins can be got from any dealer. 



Three different sizes will be all a beginner, who is e<llettir:g Li.ti*:l cs 

 only, need purchase to start with. I would advise him also to purchase a pair 

 of entomological forceps. He will probably find them a clumsy tool to start 

 with but when once he is accustomed to them he will never think of handling 

 an insect without them. 



Armed with all this furniture and having properly relaxed our specimen we 

 will now proceed to set it. 



