79 



Country all over the world. Corfe Castle, Dorset, may be our 

 familiar ruin over the border, or it may be in Tasmania, therefore, 

 add your country. The name of the captor is best put sidewise, 

 it cannot then be mistaken for any part of the locality name. When 

 collecting in mountainous districts approximate elevation, as shown 

 by aneroid or hypsometer, should be added. 



There is a tendency amongst foreign collectors to send insects 

 home very insufficiently localized ; partly this is carelessness, which 

 is very reprehensible ; partly lack of geographical knowledge, 

 which is remediable ; partly absence of proper surveying, which 

 time alone will cure, as civilization advances into the comparatively 

 unknown areas. E.G. — I have had a series of Eurota histrio sent 

 me labelled Matto-Grossas, Brazil. Well, you could probably 

 dump the entire British Isles into Matto-Grossas, so great is its 

 area. The locality is better than none, but it would be a big order 

 to find the insect again if a local species in that area. The 

 date. You will observe that first comes the day in Arabic figures, 

 second the month in Roman figures, lastly the year in Arabic. The 

 Americans are very careless about this. Now, this is the proper 

 order for the figures to come in, moreover, the month is in Roman 

 figures, and, therefore, you are not in doubt whether that date 

 is the 6th of the 7th month, or the 6th month and 7th day, which 

 makes a great deal of difference. Lastly, you will see that there 

 are four figures to identify the year. I protest most emphatically 

 against the slipshod practice of using the last two figures only 

 to designate the year. We are now 7 in the year " 191 2," not 

 <4 12." You must recollect that specimens exist in collections 

 caught as long ago as the latter end of the 17th Century, and many 

 exist caugnt during the 18th Century, and therefore risk of 

 confusion is considerable if the entire figuring for the year is not 

 recorded. 



Some collectors have chosen to poke great fun at my data tickets 

 because of their precision, but lack of precision ought to be an 

 abomination to every scientific worker. 



The data tickets should be printed in diamond brilliant, a 

 font of which can be procured for 13/2. It is the smallest available 

 type. Writing data is tiresome and trying to the eyes. If you 

 write data you must write them very distinctly. 



W. F. Kirby, and other writers of popular books, recommend 

 a number only upon the ground that large tickets with full details 

 spoil the appearance of a collection. Well, a collection is not 

 got together for the sake of prettiness. So the objection is futile. 

 I have had a number of insects sent me with numbers only, entailing 

 tedious correspondence to get accurate data. Once and for all, 

 put all your information on the ticket and put the ticket on the 

 insect's setting-pin, and then the insect, always barring rare 

 accident, takes its credentials with it to the great comfort of your 

 correspondents and to the lasting benefit of science. 



