BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [78] 



than quote the explicit directions given by Lord Walsingham on the 

 subject. 



Eeturning to camp I put a few drops of liquid ammonia on a small ^piece of sponge 

 and place it in a tin canister with such of tlie boxes as do not contain the smallest, 

 species, and put these and the remainder away until morning in a cool place. In 

 the morning I prepare for work by getting out a pair of scissors, a pair of forceps,, 

 my drying-box containing setting-boards, a sheet of white paper, and some pins. 



First, I cut two or three narrow pieces of paper from 3 to 6 lines wide, or rather 

 wider, according to the size of the largest and smallest specimens I have to set. I 

 then double each of these strips and cut it up into braces by a number of oblique 

 cuts. Now I turn out the contents of the canister and damp the sponge with a few 

 drops of fresh ammonia,- refilling with boxes containing live insects. Those Avhich 

 have been taken out will be found to be all dead and in a beautifully relaxed con- 

 dition for setting. Had the smallest specimens been placed in the canister over 

 nio-ht there would have been some fear of their drying up, owing to the small amount 

 of moisture in their bodies. 



If the weather is very hot there is some danger of killed insects becoming stiff 

 while others are being set, in which case it is better to pin at once into a damp cork 

 box all that have been taken out of the canister, but under ordinary circumstances 

 I prefer to pin them one by one as I set them. 



Takino- the lid off a box, and taking the box between the finger and thumb of the 

 right hand, I roll out the insect on the top of the left thumb, supporting it with the 

 top of the forefinger and so manipulating it as to bring the head pointing toward 

 mv rio-ht hand and the thorax uppermost. Now I take a pin in the right hand and 

 resting the first joint of the middle finger of the right against the projecting point 

 of the middle finger of the left hand to avoid unsteadiness, I pin the insect obliquely 

 throuo-h the thickest part of the thorax, so that the head of the pin leans very 

 slio'htly forward over the head of the insect. After passing the pin far enough 

 through to bring about one-fourth of an inch out bolow,* I pin the insect into the 

 middle of the groove of a setting board so that the edge of the groove will just sup- 

 port the under sides of the wings close up to the body when they are raised upon it. 

 The board should be chosen of such a size as will permit of the extension of the 

 winos nearly to its outer edge. The position of the pin should still be slanting a 

 little forward. The wings should now be raised into the position in which they are 

 intended to rest, with especial care in doing so not to remove any scales from the 

 surface or cilia of the wings. Each wing should be fastened with a brace long 

 enouo-h to extend across both, the braces being pinned at the thick end, so that the 

 head of the pin slopes away from the point of the brace ; this causes the braces to 

 press more firmly down on the wing when fixed. The insect should be braced thus : 

 The two braces next the body should have the points upwards, the two outer ones 

 pointing downwards and slightly inwards towards the body, and covering the main 

 portion of the wings beyond the middle. Antenna? should be carefully laid back 

 above the wings, and braces should lie flat, exercising an even pressure at all points 

 of their surface. The fore wings should slope slightly forwards so that a line drawn 

 from the point of one to the point of the other will just miss the head and palpi. 

 The hind wings should be close up, leaving no intervening space, but just showing 

 the upper angle of the wing evenly on each side. I can give no more precise direc- 

 tions as to how this desirable result may most simply and speedily be attained; no 

 two people set alike. Speed is an object; for I have often had to set twelve dozen 

 insects before breakfast. A simple process is essential, for a man who is always, 

 pinning and moving pins, and rearranging wings and legs, is sure to remove a cer- 

 tain number of scales and spoil the appearance of the insect, besides utterly destroy- 



" This applies to the use-of short, pins, which should subsequently he connected through strips of 

 pith with longer pins. For some of the larger micros the long pins may be used directly and a different 

 spreading board employed. 



