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placing it in a wide-mouthed bottle of a size convenient for the 

 pocket, in the bottom of which has previously been placed 

 some pieces of cyanide of potassium (liiglily poisonous) , covered 

 by a layer of blotting-paper or fine sawdust. The bottle 

 must be securely corked or stoppered. In the absence of 

 cyanide of potassium, the insects may be killed by immersion 

 in spirit, and beetles by dipping them into hot water. Small 

 beetles, ants, &c, must be gummed on card circles. A great 

 many insects, particularly beetles, may, after careful drying, 

 be packed in layers with fine sawdust in a tin box ; the lid of 

 the box should be made secure against the ingress of those 

 small insects which are so destructive to entomological 

 specimens. 



Butterflies and moths may be killed by a pinch between the 

 fingers just beneath the insertion of the wings. The insect 

 its wings having been carefully brought together, is to be 

 placed in an envelope of paper (of the stiffness of stout writing 

 paper) of the form here described : — Take a square piece of 

 paper, fold it diagonally, but so as to make the upper 

 triangular piece a little smaller than the lower ; place the 

 butterfly between the folds, and now turn over and press down 

 the overlapping margins of the lower triangle. The size 

 of the original square must be determined by the size of the 

 insect, so as to make the envelope just large enough to prevent 

 the insect shifting. When dry the envelopes may be packed 

 in layers in a tin box. 



Spidebs and the like. — Preserve in spirit, glycerine, or 

 preservative fluid. Note habits, kind of web, nests. The 

 colours should be described in life ; the special points for 

 description are the number and position of the eyes, jaws, 

 relative length of legs, shape of breast-plate, male palps, and 

 epigyne of female. 



Ceabs, crayfish, shrimps, and the like; and Staeeish, and 

 sea-urchins should be immersed in spirit for a minute, or 

 just long enough to destroy life, and afterwards dried rapidly 

 by artificial heat, below that of the boiling point of water. In 

 the case of the salt water forms it would be well to wash them 

 in fresh water before treating them with spirit. Small 

 specimens may be kept in the spirit or preservative fluid. 



Maeine Shells. — Endeavour to procure them with their 

 animals. Some cling to rocks, others beneath loose stones, or 

 burrow in sand or mud between tide marks. Extreme low 

 tides should be availed of to secure those which habitually 

 inhabit the region just beyond low tide mark ; those still 

 further out can only be procured by dredging, but are 

 occasionally cast up on the beach during storms. Dead shells 



