344 



The entire inside is lined with white paper, or, in the case of the un- 

 corked boxes, painted with zinc- white. The front is furnished with a plain 

 knob. The cover is of glass, set into a frame three-fourths of an inch 

 wide, three-eighths of an inch thick, with a oue-fourth-inch tongue 

 fitting closely into the space between the inner lining and outer box, 

 which here serves as a groove. This arrangement furnishes a perfectly 

 tight drawer of convenient size, and not unwieldly for handling when 

 studying the collection. 



The material of which these drawers are made is California redwood, 

 except the cover frame, which is mahogany. The cabinets containing 

 these drawers are 36 inches high, 40 inches wide, 21 inches deep (all 

 outside measurements), and are closed by two paneled doors. Each 

 cabinet contains twenty drawers in two rows of ten each, and the 

 drawers slide, by means of a groove on either side, onto hard-wood 

 tongues, and are designed to be interchangeable. * * * 



The bulk of the collection is still contained in small folding boxes 

 which are admirably suited for containing a working collection, espe- 

 cially of those orders comprising smaller insects like Coleoptera, Hy- 

 menoptera, etc. These folding boxes have the great advantage of 

 being readily re-arranged upon shelves and of being very easily used 

 in study. 



The folding boxes finally adopted are of . white pine, shellacked and 

 varnished, the bottom and top double, and cross-grained to prevent 

 warping. They are 13 by 8J inches outside measurement, the top and 

 bottom projecting slightly at the front and sides. The inside measure- 

 ment is llf by 7. The sides, back, and front are five-sixteenths of an 

 inch thick, with a machine joint, which is neat and very secure. The 

 boxes are 2f inches in outside depth, unequally divided, the lower por- 

 tion 1 J inches outside depth, lined inside with a thin whitewood strip, 

 projecting three fourths of an inch above the rim of the outside box. 

 Over this projecting lining the lid closes as tightly as practicable and 

 is kept from springing by h ooks and eyes. The bottom is cork-lined and 

 covered with a fine white glazed paper. 



All the boxes are furnished with neat brass label holders into which 

 a card containing a list of the contents can readily be placed and re- 

 moved at pleasure. This general form of box has long been used by 

 us and by other collectors, and the chief demerit which I have en- 

 deavored to overcome by the above details, is the tendency to warp 

 and crack in the trying steam heat of our Government buildings. 



ARRANGEMENT OF BIOLOGIC MATERIAL. 



The biologic material is, very much of it, alcoholic; for though .many 

 of the immature states of insects may be preserved by dry processes, yet 

 the bulk must needs be kept in liquid. Where the material is in dupli- 

 cate it is well, when it is not too heavy or cumbersome, to place such 

 biologic material with the systematic collection; yet experience has 



