100 ENTOMOLOGY. 
(Fig. 13.] RELAXING.—Specimens which have become stiff before 
being spread, or which need resetting, may be relaxed 
by placing them in a tight tin vessel, half filled with 
moist sand ; and a little carbolic acid in the moistening 
will prevent molding. 
BREEDING.—Far too little attention has been given 
by entomologists in this country to the breeding or 
rearing of insects, notwithstanding it offers a greater 
field for usefulness, and for original observation, than 
any other special branch of the science. 
Insects are by no means difficult to rear, and there is 
a genuine pleasure in watching their transformations, 
and in the anticipation and expectancy with which one 
looks forward to the ultimate form of some new or 
unjamiliar larva. If it is gratifying to be able to properly deter- 
mine and classify a species, it is still more so to be acquainted with 
it in all its forms, and to understand its curious habits and ways of 
life. 
In the hands of the careful breeder an insect may be secured 
against its numerous natural enemies, and against vicissitudes of 
climate ; and will consequently be more apt to mature than in a 
state of nature. Yet the great secret of successful breeding lies in 
otherwise supplying, as far as possible, the natural conditions. The 
breeding of aquatic insects requires properly arranged aquaria, and 
is always attended with the difficulty of furnishing a proper supply 
of food. The transformations of many others, both aquatic and 
terrestrial, can only be studied by close and careful out-door obser- 
vation. But the great majority of insect larve may be reared to 
the perfect state indoors, where their manceuverings may be con- 
stantly and conveniently watched. For the feeding of small 
species, glass jars, and wide-mouthed bottles will be found useful. 
The mouths should be covered with gauze or old linen, fastened 
either by thread or rubber ; and a few inches of moist earth at the 
bottom will furnish a retreat for those which enter it to transform, 
and keep the atmosphere in a moist and fit condition. 
(Fie. 14.] For larger insects I 
use a breeding cage of 
my own devising and 
dil He ii which answers the pur- 
: —- , ee 
i 
ccc 
represented in Fig. 14, 
and comprises three 
st, the 
bottom board (a) con- 
distinct parts. 
sisting of a square 
piece of inch-thick 
walnut with a rectan- 
gular zinc pan (f7), 4 
inches deep, fastened to 
it, above, and with two 
cross pieces (gg) be- 
low, to prevent crack- 
ing or warping, facil- 
itate lifting, and allow 
the air to pass underneath the cage. 2d, a box (4), with three 
glass sides and a glass door in front, to fit over the zinc pan. 34d, 
a cap (¢) which fits closely on to the box, and has a top of fine 
wire gauze. To the center of the zinc pan is soldered a zinc tube 
(@) just large enough to contain an ordinary quinine bottle. The 
zinc pan is filled with clean sifted earth or sand (¢), and the 
quinine bottle is for the reception of the food-plant. The cage 
admits of abundant light and air, and also of the easy removal of 
excrement and frass which falls to the ground ; while the insects in 
transforming enter the ground or attach themselves to the sides or 
the cap according to their habits. The most convenient dimen- 
sions I find to be 12 inches square and 18 inches high: the cap 
and the door fit closely by means of rabbets, and the former has a 
depth of about 4 inches to admit of the largest cocoon being 
spun in it without touching the box on which its rests. 
A dozen such cages will furnish room for the annual breeding of 
a great number of species, as several having different habits and 
appearance, and which there is no danger of confounding, may be 
simultaneously 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 note book, it will 
aid the memory, and expedite matters to keep a short open record 
of the species contained in each cage by means of slips of paper 
pasted on to the glass door. As fast as the different specimens 
complete their transformations and are taken from the cage, the 
notes may be altered or erased, or the slips wetted and removed 
entirely. To prevent possible confounding of the different species 
which enter the ground, it is well, from time to time, to sift the 
earth, separate the pup 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. 
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 paste-brush and spoon the frass 
may be daily removed from the earth, which should, by sprinkling, 
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. 
Such are a few directions, of a most general nature, for those 
wishing to commence to collect and study insects. Experience will 
teach a hundred others here unmentioned, and the best closing 
advice which I can give to the novice is to get acquainted, if pos- 
sible, with some one who already has that experience. You will 
find him pleasant and instructive company—whether in the field or 
the closet. 
