228 JAS. J. SIMPSON—ENTOMOLOGICAL 
very convenient pocket killing-bottle for smaller insects; this can now be 
obtained in a wooden ease, and is consequently not so liable to be broken. If 
the bottle is used in the field it is essential that it should be three-parts filled 
with soft, loosely crumpled, absorbent paper (inferior newspaper serves quite 
well), for not only will this prevent the bottle from “sweating,” but it will 
absorb the juices emitted by many insects, and will also prevent the insects from 
knocking about in the bottle. Delicate insects should not be put into the 
cyanide-bottle in the field, but should be taken home alive in the glass-bottomed 
boxes. In dry localities a killing-bottle will often become weak and ineffective 
—this may be remedied by pouring into it a few drops of vinegar or soda-water. 
A few small camel’s hair brushes (sizes Nos. 1 and 2), for catching and 
handling fleas and other gmall insects. 
Curved nickel-plated forceps, tor handling pinned insects, &c. Unpinned 
insects should be touched as little as possible with the fingers; they should be 
picked up either with the forceps or a camel’s hair brush. 
A pochet lens —This should magnify about 10 or 15 diameters ; higher powers 
are not so generally useful. 
Glass tubes for spirit specimens.—Tubes of various sizes for this purpose are 
now procurable in wooden cases suitable for sending singly by post, while boxes 
containing 24 small tubes with a pipette and two camel’s hair brushes for this 
work are now on the market. The corks should be of good quality and waxed to 
prevent evaporation of the spirit. The ordinary candle used in the tropics is 
quite suitable for this purpose. Such insects as fleas, bed-bugs, and ticks should 
always be preserved in spirit or formalin. 
Store-boxes for pinned insects.—If the ordinary deal store-boxes are used, they 
should be given a good coat of varnish or enamel paint, otherwise they are apt 
to warp and split during the dry season in the tropics ; the tops and bottoms 
should also be secured with screws, as they are liable to becomedetached by warping. 
For transmission by post, cigar-boxes lined with cork-carpet may be used ; 
provided they have been first strengthened by nailing pieces of wood on the 
inside of the short sides (to support the ends of the lid), and by tacking cross- 
strips on the top and bottom. 
Pins.—In general, it is unnecessary to pin insects for transmission to England, 
for unpinned specimens travel much more safely. But in the case of Diptera 
(two-winged flies), pinning is generally the more satisfactory method (for 
alternative methods, sce special instructions for Diptera). The pins recom- 
mended are those manufactured by D. F, Tayler & Co., the short No. 20 for all 
Diptera smaller than a house-fly, the short No. 10 for larger ones up to the size 
of a blue-bottle, and for still larger insects the long No. 16 may he used without 
staging, 
Card discs.—The general employment of these is undesirable, they should only 
be used for smaller flies, especially those with long legs, such as mosquitos, &c., 
a No. 16 pin being inserted near the centre as a support. 
Paper envelopes for Diptera, Hymenoptera, &c.—These are sometimes called 
‘“eushion envelopes,” and should be made of fairly thin soft paper as follows : 
Take a rectangular but not a square piece of paper of suitable size, and write on 
