is interesting and frequently exciting work and is very profitable. One corres- 

 pondent reports finding four hundred in a single day and another one thousand. 

 A good collector will usually discover as many cocoons in a winter day as he 

 could capture of perfect specimens on a summer day. 



WHAT TO LOOK FOR. 



Possibly you could not find a bird's nest if you had never seen one, and if 

 you do not know what a cocoon looks like your quest may be discouraging. For 

 five cents, to cover cost of sending, I will mail samples of empty pupa-cases which 

 will give you an idea of what to look for. You may not find the same specimens 

 but you will discover something like them. For five cents each I will send as many 

 samples of live pupae as you wish, and each should produce a perfect cabinet 

 specimen next spring. There are many different forms. You must take every- 

 ing you find, which resembles a cocoon. Those of the silk moths are the easiest 

 to find because of their size, but a little practice will enable you to search success- 

 fully for other forms. There are hundreds to be found in each locality, and care 

 and diligence, close observation and persistent hunting are sure to be rewarded. 

 One is certain to find rare and valuable forms which will produce species of butter- 

 flies and moths which could not be obtained by net, sugaring, traps or any other 

 known method of collecting. 



WHERE TO LOOK FOR COCOONS. 



You will find cocoons spun to the stems, limbs and twigs of low bushes, 

 especially of varieties which have thickly clustering branches like the gooseberry, 

 alder, wild cherry, chapparal, manzanita, sage-brush, etc. In walking through an 

 orchard, you will find them upon plum, apple, pear and all varieties of fruit trees. 

 They may be suspended from a branch, attached to a twig, half hidden in crevices 

 of bark, or concealed in what appears to be a bunch of leaves still clinging to the 

 branches. They are on oak, elm, maple and almost every forest tree. By the 

 bank of a river or pond the bushes and trees abound with them. Every thicket 

 and bramble patch, every cluster of bushes or vines may contain them. They are 

 on the loose leaves under trees,, many pupae dropping to the ground and lying 

 all winter beneath the leaves and rubbish. They are frequently on fences, walls, 

 in the area of basement windows, in the nooks and crannies of porches, barns, 

 chicken coops, out-buildings and under roofs, bridges, floors and trunks of fallen 

 trees, beneath loose bark, in rotten wood and logs, in old stumps, under chips, 

 boards, stones, sticks and rubbish. Parks abound in them. They can be dug 

 up in the loose soil of yards, gardens, flower beds, under bushes and trees, in 

 potato, tomato and cabbage patches, and are often brought to light by the spring 

 plowing. 



SAVE ALL PARASITES. 



Some of the cocoons you gather will be parasited. Every government, state 

 and county in the civilized world is spending money lavishly endeavoring to control 

 insect pests, and every entomologist, student and lover of nature should assist in 

 this work. Save every enemy, parasitic or otherwise, that destroys egg, larva, pupa 

 or adult. You may discover something that will be of untold value to humanity. 

 Save every insect that destroys lepidoptera and send it to me or to some insectary. 

 The beginner in butterfly farming may become a public benefactor if he will care- 

 fully observe and preserve the enemies which destroy his charges in the cocoon or 



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