ENTOMOLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS, &c. 521 
irons might be made into very good handles; but the hoop 
to which the catgut is fastened should be brass, or if iron 
it ought to be painted to secure it from rust. Some make 
the leaves of the forceps round ; but when an insect is 
perched on a wall or any vertical surface, it has less chance 
of escape if you can apply a straight side to its station. 
The Germans use a much longer and larger instrument 
of this kind, having leaves of ten or twelve inches in dia- 
meter; which they use to catch Lepidoptera when settled 
on plants. When you aim at an insect with your for- 
ceps, you must expand the leaves as much as possible, 
and cautiously approach your prey; and when within 
reach, close them upon it suddenly, including the leaf or 
flower on which it rests. As these are sometimes bulky, 
and prevent the instrument from shutting closely,—that 
the included insect may not escape, it is often necessary 
to use the other hand to bring them together, when the 
pressure of the finger and thumb soon disables it. 
6. As the waters, whether running or stagnant, as well 
as the earth and the air, teem with insects, you must 
likewise be provided with a net of a different description 
from any of the preceding, that you may fish them out. 
It may be made of fine canvass, just deep enough to pre- 
vent the insect from jumping out, and fastened to a brass 
hoop five or six inches in diameter, not perfectly circu- 
lar, but having the segment of a circle cut off anteriorly, 
so that it will apply well to a flat vertical surface; and 
fitted posteriorly with a socket, to receive the end of 
your stick; or, what is better, with a screw, which will 
securely fasten it to it?. In using this net, different 
?* Prats XXIV, Fic. 2. N.B. The net is represented too shallow 
in this figure. 
