[121] COLLECTING AND PEESERVING INSECTS RILEY. 



DIRECTIONS FOR TRANSMITTING INSECTS. 



It is very desirable in transmitting insects from the field of explora- 

 tion, or from one entomologist to another, for information, exchange, or 

 other puriDose, that they be properly secured and packed. Pinned and 

 mounted specimens should be firmly fixed in a cigar box, or a special 

 box for mailing, and this should be carefully but not too tightly wrapped 

 with cotton or other loose packing material to a depth of perhaps an 

 inch, and the whole then inclosed in stiff wrapping paper. It is prefer- 

 able, however, to inclose the box containing the specimens in a larger 

 box, filling the intervening space, not too firmly, with cotton or other 

 packing material. Where specimens are to be sent to a considerable 



Fig. 126.— Wooden-tube mailing-box : a, tube; b, cover (original.) 



distance it is advisable also to line the box in which they are placed 

 with cotton, which serves to catch and hold any specimens which may 

 become loose in transit. In the case of alcoholic specimens each vial 

 should be wrapped separately in cotton and placed in a strong wooden 

 or tin box. Si^ecial mailing boxes for alcoholic specimens have been 

 devised, and a very convenient form is herewith figured. It is an ordi- 

 nary tube of wood, with a metal screw top, and the interior lined with 

 rough cork. These tubes are made in various sizes to accommodate 

 vials of different dimensions. 



In mailing living specimens the essential thing is a strong box, pre- 

 ferably tin, made as nearly air-tight as possible. I have found it very 

 convenient on long trips to carry with me a number of tin boxes in the 

 flat (Fig. 127), combined in convenient packages, ready to be bent and 

 improvised in the field. For this purpose get any tinsmith to make out 

 of good tin a number of pieces cut of the requisite dimensions both for 

 the bottoms and the covers, carefully cutting the corners to permit 

 the proper bending of the sides. These improvised bo5:es Avill prove 



