206 [September, 



identify the species by it. I think it must be over 20 years since I 

 discarded this same ingenious arrangement ; my photographic friends 

 were so taken up with the novelty that they photographed it and sent 

 it to one of the Photographic Annuals, where it was reproduced. 



Photography can assist the Entomologist very materially, the 

 object must, however, be mounted flat, i.e., as a microscopic object 

 would be ; and from many years' experience I find that transmitted 

 light will give the best results. 



The photographs illustrating this paper were taken since reading 

 Mr. Strickland's paper, ante p. 103, on imperial plates, with six minutes' 

 exposure, and developed with Glycin-tLauff. The light was obtained 

 from a small Argand lamp burning petroleum oil The lens, a two- 

 inch microscopic. The small one is natural size, the negative made 

 by contact, object placed direct on the plate.* This, I believe, would 

 be found of great value in illustrating a work when placed by the 

 side of the enlarged wing ; figures with the length shown merely by 

 the usual line will not give so good an idea as to the natural size of 

 the wing as the above method, exception, however, must be made 

 when they are too small for reproduction by the printing press. 

 Figures of moths and butterflies, if with distinct markings and not 

 enlarged, can be photographed direct with some degree of success. 



Photography is rather expensive as an amusement to a person of 

 limited means, and it may be interesting to some to know how I 

 modify my expenditure on plates. The small wing is printed from a 

 small negative, the size of which is 1 inch x 1|. If I am going to 

 do, say half a dozen, photographs, I first take into consideration the 

 size I wish to make them, and cut the plates of whatever size I have 

 on hand to the size required, so as to allow only a small margin ; for 

 instance, I have photographed the wings of about 100 species of the 

 Tipulid<B, and these are all magnified to a uniform size, viz., 2\ inches 

 in length, consequently a half -plate will cut into six for that purpose, 

 3i X 1|, and each of these I again cut into three for the small 

 negatives previously mentioned. 



I make carriers out of thick cardboard according to the size 

 required. 



Before I commence cutting the plates I make a gauge, and to do 

 this I obtain a piece of flat board about eight inches square ; on one 

 edge of this I nail a piece of wood about half an inch wide and a quarter 

 of an inch thick ; this is for the glass to rest its back edge against. I 



* The wing mounted as a microscopic object. 



