BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, [98] 



of the vial, where it will be held by the natural adhesiou to the glass 

 in the upper portion of the vial, as shown at Fig. 114, 



Cabinet for Apparatus. — The work of lorejjaration of insects for the 

 cabinet may be greatly facilitated if a convenient case is provided with 

 drawers and compartments for the keeping of pins of different sizes, 

 labels, braces, implements, tweezers, dissecting apparatus, and the 

 like, with microscopical supiDlies - slides, cover glasses, mounting media, 

 etc. I present a photograph of a cabinet of this sort used in my 

 earlier work and found very convenient and serviceable (Fig, 116), 



INSECT BOXES AI^D CABIKETS, 



General Directions. — The boxes or cases which are used to keep 

 insects in permanently may be made of any dimensions to suit the 

 fancy, 12 by 16 inches inside being a convenient size and allowing eco- 

 nomic use of cork. They must, however, be perfectly tight and should 

 not be more than 2J inches deep on the inside. The bottoms should 

 be lined with something which will hold the pins, and the whole 

 inside covered with white paper, which, if delicately cross ruled, will 

 facilitate the regular pinning of si)ecimens. While the size and style 

 of the box and cabinet may be left to individual taste, some choice 

 must be had of material. Red cedar should never he used. I have 

 learned, to my sorrow, the baneful effects of this wood, notwithstanding 

 it is recommended — evidently by those who are guiltless of having used 

 it — as having the advantage over other wood of keeping off musuem 

 pests. It seems impossible to get this wood so seasoned but that a 

 certain amount of resin will continually exude from it; and insects in 

 boxes of this material are very apt to soften and become greasy. Paper 

 bbxes are also bad, as they attract moisture and cause the specimens 

 to mold. Well-seasoned pine and whitewood are the most satisfactory; 

 and, in such boxes as have glass covers and are intended to form part 

 of a neat cabinet for parlor ornament, the fronts may be of walnut or 

 cherry. 



The character of the boxes and cabinets used for storing insects will 

 depend largely on the nature and extent of the collection and the object 

 of the collector. For temporary use, nothing is more convenient and 

 economical than a cigar box lined with cork or pith. Such boxes, how- 

 ever, should be employed only for the temporary storage of fresh speci- 

 mens, as they afford free access to museum pests, and insects kept in 

 them for any length of time are apt to be destroyed or rendered useless. 



The Folding-box. — The use of folding-boxes for the working collector 

 is to be especially recommended in the case of those orders comprising 

 small insects like Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, etc. These boxes have the 

 great advantage of being readily rearranged on the shelves and of being- 

 very easily used in study. The boxes of this type now manufactured 

 by John Schmidt, of Brooklyn, N". Y., and John Burr, of Camden, N. J., 

 based on the experience which I have had, have proved so serviceable 



