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108 CARE OF A COLLECTION. 
the cover may be screwed very close and the crack pasted like 
the others. Under other and usual circumstances the lid may 
be provided with a metal boss fitting a groove lined with india 
rubber or filled with wax. An excellent case may be made of 
tin with the lids secured in this manner, and further fortified 
with a wooden casing. Birdskins entirely free from ‘insects or 
their eggs, encased in some such secure manner, will remain in- 
tact indefinitely ; but there is misery in store if any bugs or nits 
be put away with them. When many boxes are stored or 
forwarded, much time and inconvenience may be saved by 
labelling each with a summary of contents, or with a number 
referring to an inventory. 
§57. Capinets. As a matter of fact, most collections are 
kept readily accessible for examination, display or other im- 
mediate use, and this precludes any disposition of them in 
‘‘hermetical’’ cases. The most we can do is to secure tight 
fitting of movable woodwork. ‘The “cabinet” is most eligible 
for private collections. This is, in effect, simply a bureau, or 
chest of drawers, protected with folding doors, or a front that 
may be detached, either of plain wood or sashing for panes of 
glass. It is simply astonishing how many birdskins of average 
size can be accommodated in a cabinet that makes no incon- 
venient piece of furniture for an ordinary room. A cabinet 
may of course be of any desired size, shape and style. In gen- 
eral it will be better to put money into excellence of fitting 
rather than elegance of finish: the handsomest front does not 
compensate for a crack in the back or for a drawer that hitches. 
There should not be the slightest flaw in the exterior, and doors 
should fit so tightly that a puff of air may be felt on closing 
them. The greatest desideratum of the interior work, next 
after close fitting yet smooth running of the drawers, is econ- 
omy of space. This is secured by making the drawers as thin 
as is consistent with stability ; by having them slide by a boss 
at each end fitting a groove in the side wall, instead of resting 
on horizontal partitions; and by hinged countersunk handles 
instead of knobs. I do not recommend, except for a suite of 

