THE YOUXG NATURALIST. 



53 



cerience, — Mr. Gregson, of Liverpool, — will 

 l»bably tell you how to rind them, so for the 

 I sent we will tell you how to prepare'for what is 

 laing on. 



I f you have plenty of money, you will be able 

 ttbuy all you want from one of the dealers who 

 jt ertise on the back of our magazine. But if 

 fti are — as often happens — not overstocked with 

 It commodity, you will have to put up with 

 Rome-spun *' tackle, and buy only what you 

 •mot make. One of the most important things 

 D'ded will be a net. If you can afford to buy 

 th, we should certainly recommend you to do so ; 

 liy are made so handy as to enable you to fold 

 fcmupand carry them in the pocket. If you cannot 

 lord this, get a tin Y anf l a piece of cane ; bend 

 I cane, and insert each end into the upper 

 $«kets of the Y, and a wooden handle into the 

 leer one. Now make a bag of book muslin or 

 gen leno, and, fastening it upon the cane hoop, 

 fi have a net that will do, at any rate, for a 

 b;inning. This will be for catching moths and 

 b terflies ; you will want one stronger, and the 

 b, r made of " holland " for catching caterpillars, 

 pome breeding cages will also be required, and 

 the should be got ready while there is not much 

 Mtodo. Thebest are those made by practical men, 

 b very good makeshifts may be made out of 

 D inary flower pots, by rubbing the edge on a 

 fl stone until a piece of glass will lay firmly upoa 

 it or a piece of book muslin may be stretched 

 rr and tied with a string, without rubbing. 

 Sail jam-pots will require treating in a similar 

 riner for very young larvae. Larger cages 

 m be made from "powder blue" and other 

 6«es. Knock off the lid, and stretch some book 

 a din over, fastening it with paste, or better, with 

 l ie slips of wood nailed all round the upper 

 l ;es, upon the muslin. Then saw the box in two 

 1 ut half way down the sides, and affix some 

 : 0 ,- hinges on one side, and a hook for fastening 

 o the other. Such a cage as this will serve for 

 my kinds of larvae. If you get one or two 

 voden cages ready, the flower pots can be got 

 rar on as they are wanted. Some store boxes 

 id also be required for putting the insects in 5 

 u some setting boards for setting them out 

 urn. The best plan will be either to buy one, 

 o.o ask an entomologist to let you look at one ; 

 a . then if you think you are able to make them 

 y. can set to work. But whether you buy them 



or make them, have a standard size for your boxes 

 and keep to it, then they can be arranged on a 

 shelf, like books. One or two small ones will be 

 needed, suitable for the pocket, but in all cases 

 have them lined with cork, cut for the purpose. 



Chlorophyll, or the colouring matter of plants, 

 has been recently discovered by M. Fremy to con- 

 sist of two principal constituents : one yellow, and 

 called by him phylloxanthin, and the other a dark 

 bluish-green, which he calls phyllocyanic acid. 

 Having further inquired into the manner in which 

 the substances occur in the organic tissue, he con- 

 cludes that "the colouring matter of leaves is a 

 mixture of phylloxanthin and phyUocyanate of 

 potash." 



BOTANY AND ENTOMOLOGY. 



By Mrs. Battersby, Rathowen, Westmeath. 



The Editor of " The Young Naturalist " is 

 kind enough to wish to add my name to his list 

 of contributors, but I own that I am rather 

 timidly following the footsteps of my friend " The 

 Princess of Entomologists," as an old working man 

 recently styled her in a letter, adding a sigh, 

 which most of us would sadly re-echo, for the 

 loss of the "Prince," kind and generous Mr. 

 Doubleday. There is, however, one phase of the 

 question, "What is the benefit of Natural History 

 to the young ?" upon which Mrs. Hutchinson has 

 not touched in her pleasant and useful essay ; it 

 is that of the real blessing which a love of, and an 

 acquaintance with this science, may prove in a 

 sick-room, when the patient is for a season laid 

 aside, too languid to indulge in any pursuit which 

 would involve exertion, too weary for continuous 

 reading, and needing something fresh to interest, 

 without fatiguing, the eye or the brain. We 

 shall suppose a case. A number of Emperor 

 Moths' eggs have been sent by a friend to a young 

 invalid entomologist. These moths are easy to 

 rear, easy to feed, singularly varied in their 

 colours and sizes, and the cocoon is a study in it- 

 self. First, there is the daily glance at the glass 

 box which contains the treasures ; the eager 

 "they are coming out," and request to some 

 friend or servant to procure a few of the numerous 

 leaves upon which they feed ; observing the tiny 

 black larvae grow larger, and display their pretty 



