BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [114] 



"A dozen sncli cages will furnisli room for the animal breeding of 

 a great number of species, as several having different habits and ap- 

 pearance, and which there is no danger of confounding, may be simul- 

 taneously fed in the same cage. I number each of the three parts of 

 each cage to prevent misplacement and to facilitate reference, and 

 aside from the notes made in the notebook, it will aid the memory 

 and expedite matters to keep a short open record of the species con- 

 tained in each cage, by means of slips of paper pasted on the glass 

 door. As fast as the different specimens comjjlete their transforma- 

 tions and are taken fi-om the cage the notes may be altered or erased, 

 or the slips wetted and removed entirely. To prevent possible con- 

 founding of the different species which enter the ground, it is well, 

 from time to time, to sift the earth, separate the pupte and place them 

 in what I call 'imago cages,' used for this purpose alone and not for 

 feeding. Here they may be arranged with references to their exact 

 whereabouts. 



Pig. 124.— Improved base for breeding-cage (original). 



"A continued supply of fresh food must be given to those insects 

 which are feeding, and a bit of moist sponge thrust into the mouth of 

 the bottle will prevent drowning, and furnish moisture to such as 

 need it. By means of a broad paste brush and spoon the frass may 

 be daily removed fi'om the earth, which should be kept in a fit and 

 moist condition— neither too wet nor too dry. In the winter, when 

 insect life is dormant, the earth may be covered with a layer of clean 

 moss, and the cages put away in the cellar, where they will need only 

 occasional inspection, but where the moss must nevertheless be kept 

 damp. Cages made after the same plan, but with the sides of wire 

 gauze instead of glass, may be used for insects which do not well bear 

 confinement indoors, the cages to be placed on a platform on the north 

 side of a house, where they will receive only the early morning and late 

 evening sun." 



