200 METHOD OF COLLECTING 
the heat of the iron will soften the grease, and the 
chalk will absorb it. 
Another method is to hold a heated iron over 
the insects for a few minutes, and then to wash 
the spotted or greasy places with ox gall and water, 
applied with a camel-hair pencil, and afterwards 
wash it with pure water, and dry it by an applica- 
tion of bloating paper, and when perfectly dry 
imbue it with the solution of corrosive sublimate. 
.But grease seldom appears where the contents of 
the abdomen have been removed. 
It is most difficult, if not nearly impracticable, 
to set many of the smaller moths without destroy- 
ing the characters of their wings ; and the trunks 
of many of them are so small that they are not 
even the breadth of a pin. The only method there- 
fore of preserving these is by gumming them on a 
card, and keeping their wings expanded by means 
of the gum. This must be applied with a camel- 
hair pencil. If the collector has two specimens, 
one should be set with expanded wings, and the 
other in the state while at rest. These small in- 
sects should be placed on dark coloured or black 
cards, if they are themselves pale; and if dark, 
they should be fixed on white cards. 
