Introduction xxiii 



like beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets, may be preserved in 

 alcohol ; while others, like the butterflies, may be kept dry, 

 although part of these may well be preserved in alcohol. 

 To collect many of the insects a net is needed. To make 

 it, obtain an iron wire about a fifth of an inch in diameter, 

 bend it into a ring about a foot in diameter, with the ends 

 projecting two or three inches at right angles ; solder the 

 ends into a short piece of brass tubing. Then sew over the 

 wire a strip of strong muslin an inch or two wide, and to 

 this muslin sew a bag of mosquito netting, Swiss muslin, 

 or some similar fabric, about thirty inches deep. When 

 in the field ready to collect, cut a handle for the net, or 

 make one beforehand that will fit into the piece of brass 

 tubing. 



The most convenient method of killing insects is by the 

 use of the cyanide bottle. To make this, take almost any 

 wide-mouthed glass bottle with a tight-fitting cork. Place 

 on the bottom two or three lumps of cyanide of potassium 

 (a virulent poison to be handled with great care), the size of 

 a hickory nut, cover these with fine sawdust, and over the 

 sawdust pour in sufficient plaster of Paris mixed with water 

 to make a layer half an inch thick. Let the bottle dry out 

 before inserting the cork. As already stated this cyanide 

 of potassium is poisonous, and of course must be handled 

 carefully. If desired, the bottles may be prepared at drug 

 stores at small cost. After the plaster is set, there is prac- 

 tically no danger unless the fumes of the bottle be directly 

 inhaled, for which there is no excuse. Keep the bottle 

 closed except when putting in an insect. The cyanide 

 fumes rising through the porous plaster will kill it almost 

 instantly. This cyanide bottle is to be used especially for 

 butterflies and moths, as well as for bees, wasps, and similar 

 insects, but should not be used for worms and caterpillars, 



