490 



RECREATION 



:..■: 



A PAIR OF WHITE ADMIRALS 



It is impossible to give special di- 

 rections for each species ; observation 

 of nature's methods must be every 

 boy's school. A few general observa- 

 tions must suffice. The crucial time is 

 infancy; the- little black snip of life 

 looks like a tiny fragment of cotton. 

 He comes out of his shell on the stem 

 which the egg was laid on, and by that 

 time its leaves have become hard for his 

 infantile gums in confinement. Take 

 him up gently on the point of a small, 

 soft, artists' paint brush, and set him 

 down on a fresh, crisp, leaf. He will 

 set about the business of his life, to eat, 

 at once. As he finishes, or the leaves 

 wilt, lift him on to another. When he 

 gets bigger he won't trouble ; he will do 

 his own foraging. During this period 

 of his growth there will come days 

 when he won't eat ; don't be alarmed ! 

 He is only preparing to shed his skin. 

 His jacket has grown too tight for him, 

 that is all. When he has gone through 

 all his sheddings, he will spin himself 

 up in a cocoon, or go to earth, or tie 

 up to a reed or stem, and go into winter 

 quarters. Don't coddle chrysalids, 

 don't be afraid that the cold will hurt 



them ; remember what it is out 

 on the marsh, or in the forest, 

 and leave them alone. If you 

 keep them unnaturally, in the 

 winter, they will come out in 

 the spring as butterflies or 

 moths before nature is ready 

 for them. 



As eggs and chrysalids are 

 much less frequently seen than 

 the caterpillar or moth, it may 

 not be amiss to preserve a 

 few specimens of the eggs of 

 each captive, and one or two 

 chrysalids of each. It saves 

 many hours of future doubt 

 to be able to turn to them for 

 identification. The eggs need 

 no other treatment than sub- 

 merging on the dry stalk or 

 leaf in tubes of alcohol. The 

 chrysalids may either be killed 

 with an injection ,of chloro- 

 form or soaked in alcohol. 

 The preservation of the caterpillar's 

 case, that is, the stuffing of the skin, 

 for show purposes, is of little practical 

 importance, except for museums. 



The setting up of the farm-bred, per- 

 fect, butterfly or moth is much simpli- 

 fied, because one can take one's own 

 time with it. One note of warning is 

 needed, and that is against haste. Let 

 the released wings have ample time to 

 expand to their full beauty before stupe- 

 fying their owner. When they are 

 farm-bred they can be set at once, as 

 no relaxing methods are necessary. In 

 setting them in the ordinary blocks, let 

 the bodies ride free in the grooves 

 and their wings expand according 

 to the necessity of showing the mark- 

 ings of both the upper and under 

 wings. 



What you propose doing with your 

 collection will govern many other de- 

 tails. If you are making it for person- 

 al delight, as a thing of beauty and 

 a joy forever, or to sell, as part of a 

 museum collection, you will be gov- 

 erned accordingly. 



On this point will hang the question 

 of glass frames or elaborate cabinets, 



