36 



THE COLLECTORS' MONTHLY 



Fig. VII Insect case. 

 Each side piece of box and cover is 

 composed of one piece of wood, as are 

 also top and bottom. The wood should 

 be well seasoned (pine will do), and the 

 joints and top and bottom should fit 

 evenly, and be securely and tightly fas- 

 tened. The dotted lines represent lines 

 drawn on the paper in the bottom of the 

 box, dividing the space into four or five 

 columns. The insects are arranged in 

 rows in these columns — the label for each 

 species being at the extreme left hand 

 side of each column. These boxes are 

 nine and three-fourths by thirteen and 

 three-fourths, and two and one-half in- 

 ches deej) — out ide measurement. Inside 

 they are twelve a,nd spven-eights by eight 

 and three-fourths, and two inches deep. 

 They should not cost more than fifty 

 cents each, at the very most — if made of 

 pine. 



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Some Books for the Collector. 



As the collection begins to grow in size, 

 one of the first books that it will become 

 necessary for the collector to get, is Hen 

 shaw's List of Coleoptera. This is a 

 numbered check-list of the Coleoptera of 

 America, north of Mexico. It costs $1.25, 

 and has two supplements costing twenty- 

 five cents each — all of which may be ob- 

 tained of Geo. B. Cresson, P. 0. Box 

 248, Philadelphia, Penn. This book is 

 almost indispensable in exchanging, 

 while,-by means of the numbers, the work 

 of arranging the collection is very much 

 lessened. Follpwing on, familiarity with 



the more common species, will come a de- 

 sire to obtain definite and exact knowl- 

 edgeregarding the special characteristics 

 of each family and genus, and the man- 

 ner in which they are separated. This 

 can be attained through careful study, 

 aided by Leconte and Horn's Classifica- 

 tion of the Coleoptera of North America, 

 which may also be obtained from the 

 above dealer. Price, $2.50 per copy. 



A little work on general entomology 

 which covers the whole subject in a gene- 

 ral way, and which also contains much 

 Information useful to, the collector, is 

 Packard's Entomology for Beginners. 

 This may be obtained for $1 .50 from A. 

 E. Foote, 4116 Elm Avenue, Philadel- 

 phia, Penn. A much more complete work 

 is Packard's Guide to the Study of In- 

 sects, and it costs a great d°al more. It 

 may be obtained of the last named deal- 

 er. Price, $4.50. Chkysis. 



About Collecting Near Carrion. 



About collecting near carrion, Mr. E. 

 V. Beales (in "The Colorado Sun") 

 says :— 



"It may be news for the young col- 

 lector to know that a dead cow, horse, 

 or mule, is a regular gold mine for the 

 collector, especially for the coleopterist, 

 and I have also noticed that many of our 

 most beautiful butterflies are captured 

 around the dead carcass. 



"There are a few suggestions which I 

 wish to make in regard to collecting in 

 the neighborhood of dead animals. Al- 

 ways approach them on the windward 

 side; be sure and put on an old pair of 

 gloves; never handle with your fingers 

 any insect taken in the immediate neigh- 

 borhood, but use your forceps for put- 

 ting them into the cyanide bottle, and 

 be careful not to allow a fly or any other 

 insect to settle upon you. 



