PREVENTION AND CURE OF GREASE. 149 



vinula is, or to speak more correctly, ivas, saturated with grease, I 

 had the satisfaction of throwing it into the fire. With insects 

 bred or captured by myself, no such " saturation " does or can 

 occur, owing to the method which, for so many years, I have 

 adopted, and which, I think I may say, discovered. If, however, 

 I have a rare insect, or still worse, a good variety in this con- 

 dition? — well, my first impulse is to shed a tear over it ; but as 

 this does not tend to remove the grease, I empty the body of (say 

 caja), and cast the insect into the benzine, from which in due 

 time it emerges — sometimes better, sometimes worse — generally 

 worse. This, of course, is only my experience, and is not for a 

 moment meant to impugn Mr. Arkle's statement. But he must 

 be a more skilful manipulator than I am. But to go a little 

 further. No one, I think, will maintain that the thin-bodied 

 G-eometrse (say the genus Hyhernia) , ii SiWowed to saturate, can be 

 submitted with impunity to the benzine. Only clean the bodies 

 and they are safe for ever. Nay, it will be sufiicient to simply 

 break off the bodies and soak them in the benzine. If with a 

 slight incision so much the better. 



Before I conclude I must claim the indulgence of my readers 

 for two or three remarks upon Mr. Anderson's communication on 

 this subject. He says: — "Rarely, except in the case of the 

 Sphingidse and Bombyces, is it necessary to remove the contents," 

 &c. I must dissent. Let him try the genera Leucania and Non- 

 agria, and I think he will, at any rate, admit that it is advisable to 

 do so. It may be that immersion for a fortnight or so may 

 obviate this necessity, but when it can be done as effectually in a 

 few hours by the former method, why not adopt it ? How does 

 Mr. Anderson prevent the evaporation of the benzine for a fort- 

 night or even two or three days ? He then suggests that grease 

 may emanate from the thorax, and not the abdomen. I have 

 never heard or read of this theory before, and I cannot think that 

 there is the slightest foundation for it. Of the thousands of 

 insects I have eviscerated, I have never found one with a greasy 

 thorax after the operation. I agree most thoroughly with him as 

 to the results of entire soaking, and I think he has described 

 those results very happily. I shall be happy to answer by 

 letter, as far as I am able, any questions which these gentlemen 

 or others may address to me on the subject. I sum up with my 

 favourite quotation, '* Prevention is better than cure." 



Rostrevor, Clifton, Bristol, April 4th, 1893. 



