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Notes on various Subjects. 



[NO. 6, NEW SERIES, 



perature, that it should be sufficiently cheap and easily procured, 

 and lastly, that it should not afford harbour to insects. 



A cabinet lined with a material that does not give a sufficiently 

 tenacious hold for the pins is worse than useless. In the jolting of 

 a voyage or march a large and heavy insect gets detached, is rat- 

 tled about the case amongst the other specimens, and destroys in 

 a few hours the labours of years. 



Cork is the material in most general use in England for this pur- 

 pose, and is procured in large sheets which are cut to the requisite 

 thickness, and after being glued to the bottom of the case, the 

 whole is covered with a sheet of paper. In a cool climate this an- 

 swers sufficiently well, but in India the sheets of cork too often be- 

 come detached by the heat, whilst the numerous pores which per- 

 forate it in every direction, afford abundant shelter to myriads of 

 insects, which speedily destroy the contents of the case. 



Shola commonly called pith (the stem of the CEschynomene as- 

 pera) is frequently used in India, as is also the very soft wood of 

 the Erythrina Indica, but with the same results. Solutions of ar- 

 senic or corrosive sublimate will preserve all these substances for 

 a time, but as far as my experience goes, no amount of these drugs 

 will secure them from destruction for any lengthened period. 



The substance which I have used with the greatest success, meets 

 all the requirements of a good lining material. It affords a very 

 tenacious hold to the pins, is unaffected by ordinary changes of 

 temperature, is procurable in every bazaar, and affords no harbour 

 to insects. In addition to this, it does not require the application 

 of any poisonous solution, being in itself indestructible by vermin. 

 The receipt is as follows : 



R Common rosin or dammer 16 ounces. 



Pound the rosin and melt it slowly, then add the wax, and when tho- 

 roughly incorporated take it off the fire, and add the camphor previously 

 dissolved in the turpentine. 



To apply this composition, place the box, case, or drawer on a 

 level surface, and when the liquid has cooled down a little, pour 



Yellow wax 

 Turpentine 

 Camphor. . 



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