70 THE TAXIDERMIST'S GUIDE. 



point. The operator must blow through this pipe while he ken • 

 turning the skin slowly round over a charcoal lire ; the skin soon 

 becomes hardened, and, after being anointed with oil of spike 

 and resin, it may be placed in a cabinet when dry. A small straw 

 or pipe of gras may be substituted for the glass pipe. 



Some persons inject them with colored wax after they are 

 dried. 



THE PUPA. 



When the insects have escaped from their Pupa skin, the skin 

 usually retains the shape and general appearance it did while it 

 contained the insect. It is therefore ready for a cabinet, without 

 any preparation whatever. But if the animal has not quitted its 

 envelope, it will be necessary either to drop the Pupa into warm 

 water, or to heat it in a tin case before the fire ; the former mode, 

 however, is the best, and least liable to change the colors of the 

 Pupa. 



METHOD OF BREEDING INSECTS. 



Breeding Cages. — These must be made of oak, or other hard 

 wood, as pine is apt to kill the Caterpillars, from its strong smell 

 of turpentine. The best form for these is represented in fig. 32. 

 The sides and front are covered with gauze ; a is a small square 

 box, for the reception of a phial of water, for placing the stalks 

 of plants in, on which it is intended the Caterpillars are to feed. 

 The most convenient size for a breeding cage is, eight inches in 

 breadth, four deep, and one foot in height. It is not proper to 

 place within a cage Kaore than one species of Caterpillar, as many 

 of them prey upon each other. Indeed animals of the same 

 species will devour each other, if left without food. The Cater- 

 pillars of insects, for the most part, will only eat one particular 

 kind of food, so that it is better to have no more than one sort in 

 a cage. 



There must be at the bottom of the cage earth to the depth of 

 two inches ; this should be mixed with some fine sand and veg- 

 etable earth, if possible, to prevent it from drying. The cages 

 should be kept in a cool cellar or damp place, because many in- 

 sects change into the Pupa condition under the earth ; so that it 

 would require to be somewhat moist, to prevent the destuction of 



