190 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



question. To me it appears to be one of the most interesting 

 discoveries that has been brought before the entomological public 

 for many a year ; for it had long been my hope that some vapour 

 might be found to take the place of aqueous moisture, of which I 

 confess to having a horror, even when its evil effects are, to a 

 certain extent, mitigated by the addition of carbolic acid. It is, 

 therefore, with great satisfaction that I am enabled, from my 

 own experience, to confirm Mr. de la Garde's observations in 

 every respect. 



In a well-closed vessel containing a fair amount of naphthalin, 

 insects will undoubtedly keep supple for a long time ; a cockroach 

 killed in a cyanide-bottle, to which four crushed marbles of albo- 

 carbon had been added, displayed no indication of rigor mortis, 

 and a month afterwards was as pliant as when first killed — even 

 more so ; and yet there were not the slightest signs of putrefac- 

 tion, disarticulation, or mildew. A Biston hirtariay literally 

 soused with a drachm of chloroform, in which it was allowed to 

 remain for two hours, and then put into a well- stoppered bottle 

 with a quarter of an ounce of sublimed naphthalin, was, in a 

 fortnight afterwards, in perfect condition for setting out. It 

 would seem, therefore, that, in addition to its power to keep 

 freshly-caught insects relaxed, naphthalin has the effect of 

 counteracting the rigidity caused by cyanide, and even of an 

 over-dose of chloroform ; and no doubt, if it were combined 

 (either mixed or in a separate compartment) with cyanide in 

 our killing-bottles, the latter would be considerably improved 

 thereby. 



Combined with a few drops of wood-naphtha, as in my 

 suggestion for ** Dry-relaxing " (E. M. M. xxxii. 101), it will be 

 found very useful for relaxing small Micros, which will not bear 

 the application of wood-naphtha, or indeed of any other fluid. 



Fortunately the relaxing action of naphthalm, alone, upon 

 dried specimens is quite insufficient to prevent the continuation 

 of its use as a valuable prophylactic against mites and mould in 

 our cabmets. 



Let me persuade your readers to give naphthalin a trial, for 

 I am morally certain that it will henceforth take the place of the 

 damp collecting-box and the laurel-jar. 



Mr. de la Garde has conferred a great boon upon entomolo- 

 gists by his discovery, and it seems to me quite safe to predict 

 that naphthalin, like many other gas products, has a grand 

 future before it. 



London : May, 1896. 



