52 FIELD ZOOLOGY. 



For the more nervously organized insects, one must 

 ha\'e another mode of kiUing them. A wide-mouthed 

 glass bottle with a tightly fitting stopper — a small candy 

 jar with its ground glass stopper is excellent — should be 

 fitted with a wad of absorbent cotton in the lid. The 

 jar should be wide enough to admit large moths and 

 butterflies and flies without doubling up their wings. 

 Just before putting in the insects that must be killed, for 

 instance, saw flies, horn tails, mosquitoes, stable flies, 

 drop a few drops of ether or chloroform on the absorbent 

 cotton in the lid. Close the jar quickly and tightly. 

 This jar may be used for killing flies, but the advice of your 

 instructor must be followed as to which flies are to be 

 killed. It would never do to kill the valuable Tachinas, 

 or the syrphid flies; while mosquitoes, house flies, stable 

 flies, and hessian flies are to be killed without mercy. 



The killing bottle will do for the stronger dragon 

 flies also, but not more than one specimen for the whole 

 class should be killed, and when you put it into the jar, 

 you must put considerably more ether on the absorbent 

 cotton. If you reach the study of dragon flies late in the 

 summer or early in the fall, you may find quite a number of 

 dragon flies that have died a natural death. These will 

 do quite well for examination. Care should be taken not 

 to put many insects into the killing bottle at one time ; if 

 the insects are moths or butterflies, and large, only one or 

 two at a time. In bringing home your finds, the natural 

 food inclinations of your insects must be regarded. The 

 shepherd would not be so foolish as to shut up the wolves 

 with his sheep. For instance, if you catch some spiders, 

 better give them a box by themselves, few in the box, and 

 not long at a time; or you will be likely to have nothing 

 left except some unusually well-fed, big spiders. So 



