46 
The following paper was then presented: 
INSECTARY AND OFFICE METHODS. 
By F. M. WEBSTER, Wooster, Ohio. 
It is my intention to give an idea of the methods in use in the ento- 
mological department of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station. 
Under insectary methods, I have included all matters relative to col- 
lecting and rearing of insects, while under office methods I have 
grouped the management of this material after it is mounted, together 
with record keeping, mapping areas of distribution and in fact, every- 
thing relating to each species, until it reaches the permanent collec- 
tion, and the records connected with it are published. 
I might, perhaps, say that while in the beginning our system requires 
a considerable expenditure of time, we have found that when we come 
to use the notes, records, and material, and especially if these were 
required on short notice, we save vastly more time than was consumed 
in the inauguration of the system. Where a single person is working 
alone and is personally familiar with every specimen that is connected 
with his investigations such a system may not be necessary, but where 
there is one or more assistants, there must be some method employed 
whereby each will understand at a glance what the other has done, 
and the records be as intelligible to one as they are to another. 
Regarding the material that comes into the insectary, this is, of 
course, derived from two sources: First, that of our own collecting, 
and which may come from all parts of the State, and second, that 
which is sent to us by correspondents, and which comes largely from 
the State in which we are located, but may come from almost any- 
where. For such insects as do not require leaf plants upon which to 
feed, or such as have passed into the pupal stage and require no food, 
excepting such insects as are found in limbs and trunks of trees, we 
manage by the old method of placing them in jelly glasses. For such 
as require a limited amount of food, and especially where we wish to 
watch their movements very closely, we use the ordinary glass cylinders 
known as chimneys for the Argand gas burners. These are about two 
inches uniform diameter and five inchesinlength. We find these prefer- 
able to ordinary lamp chimneys, as they are of better quality of glass 
and less easily broken. These can be placed over plants, either in the 
benches, in the insectary, or when the plants are growing in ordinary 
flowerpots. The top of the cylinder is covered with a thin muslin and 
held down with glue or asphalt. Whatever preparation is used for 
this purpose should be insoluble in water. For insects that require 
much food, and for which a large amount of leafage is consequently 
necessary, we employ larger breeding cages. These have been fully 
described in my paper on a “Serviceable insectary,” published in the 
Canadian Entomologist, volume 31, pages 73-76, and I will, therefore, 
not redescribe them here, but refer to this publication for a full deserip- 
