97 



mass of undetermined material that would be of no use to us or anybody 

 else, and our determined collection, which is the only really valuable 

 one, is greatly improved thereby. 



At the Colorado Agricultural College we shall be glad to receive, on 

 the above terms, from any person, material in CynipidiC, Jassid», and 

 Typhlocybidai, and especially in the last-named family. Specimens may 

 be sent in quantit}' unmounted and we will mount and return deter- 

 mined sets of duplicates. 



Row to collect rapidly. — As this is an imjjortant matter to consider In 

 the making of a collection, let me tell how we proceed at Fort Collins. 

 It may be a help to someone. 



We use a net 15 inches in diameter, made of strong cheese cloth, or, 

 better, thin muslin, which is stronger. Any material with coarser 

 meshes than cheese cloth will not do, as the smaller insects will go 

 through. With this net we sweep or beat low herbage for a few minutes, 

 and then with a few sudden jerks of the net all the insects are sent into 

 the corners, and these are quickly gathered up and i)ut into a large 

 cyanide bottle until the insects are quiet. Then the net is removed and 

 the contents emptied into another bottle, a few of the more delicate 

 insects being removed with forceps and put into a bottle by themselves. 

 The operation is then repeated until the bottles are filled or we have 

 no more time to devote to the work. On reaching the laboratory the 

 bottles are emptied on a sheet of paper, and with a pair of forceps the 

 insects are separated from the rubbish, the difterent orders being put 

 in little piles by themselves. These are then mounted at once, or are 

 stored for mounting at some future time. We store them, in perfect 

 condition, in small wooden or pasteboard boxes, as follows : A thin layer 

 of the insects is spread evenly over the bottom of the box and covered 

 with a sheet of paper cut to fit. On this paper is written any notes we 

 wish preserved upon the insects beneath it. The box may then be filled 

 with cotton, so that when the cover is on the cotton will press gently on 

 the insects below and keep them from tumbling about ; or a very little 

 cotton may be added and then a sheet of paper and another layer of in- 

 sects, and then another sheet of paper, and the cotton on top of this. No 

 matter how many layers of insects are put in a box, there should always 

 be a sheet of paper on both sides of them to prevent their logs and 

 antenuie from getting tangled in the cotton. 



This method of collecting is specially to be preferred on long collect- 

 ing trips and when one desires to collect rapidly without stopping to 

 mount his specimens as he goes along. It is always best, when possible 

 to do so, to collect from only one kind of plant at a time, and then keep 

 these sweepings in different bottles and in separate layers in the boxes, 

 properly labeled. Such a collection is worth fully twice what it would 

 be if the food plants of the various species were not known. 



If the specimens were separated into their proper groups when they 

 were put into the boxes, these boxes maybe sent directly to specialists 

 for determination, if they will consent to receive them. 

 004l>— No. 2 7 



