122 THE YOUNG 



collecting for many years, has accu- 

 mulated some thousands of specimens, 

 and has his cabinet drawers made to 

 suit the length of his pins, though he 

 may be convinced the other plan has 

 many advantages, he will be very 

 loth to adopt it, because it would 

 necessitate the re- setting of his entire 

 collection, and possibly the purchase 

 of new cabinets. A beginner is 

 much more advantageously x^laced, 

 he has neither cabinets nor insects, 

 nor has he even become so accus- 

 tomed to one particular style, as to 

 fancy that any other looks stiff, or 

 unnatural. We purpose therefore, 

 now before the collecting season 

 begins, to say a few words in support 

 of the Continental, or high flat set, 

 in the hope that we may induce some 

 of our readers to adopt that style 

 that is followed by Lepidopterists all 

 over the world, except in our own 

 Island. 



The first thing to which we would 

 call attention, is that in many of our 

 collections the tips of the wings are 

 in contact with the lining of the 

 cabinet drawer, to the injury of the 

 delicate fringes, and affording a con- 

 venient road for mites. This is 

 almost unavoidable with short pins 

 when the wings are set with a down- 

 ward curve. We have no special 

 predeliction for the perfectly flat set, 

 but if short pins are to be used, it is 

 decidedly advantageous, as it will 

 keep the wings well off the bottom of 

 the cabinet drawers, and render them 



NATURALIST. 



much less liable to the attacks of 

 mites. If long pins be used, either 

 the flat set or the curve may be 

 adopted according to the taste of the 

 collector, and even with short pins, 

 if a very slight curve be given to the 

 setting board, and the pin inserted 

 so that there is as much of it below 

 the body of the insect as above it, 

 some of the advantages may still be 

 gained. But there are other special 

 advantages in the use of long pins. 

 In a former article, we strongly 

 advocated that every insect should 

 have a small label on the pin, giving 

 a brief history of the specimen, where 

 and when obtained, &c. With long 

 pins, these labels, neatly written, 

 would greatly enhance the practical 

 value of the collection, as all par- 

 ticulars would be readable without 

 moving the specimens. A doctor 

 once recommended a patient to obtain 

 a large vessel, to All it with hot water, 

 to get into it, to rub himself all over 

 with soap and the hot water, and 

 afterwards to rub himself dry with a 

 coarse towel. The patient stared 

 aghast, " That," said he, "is washing 

 oneself." " Yes," replied the doctor, 

 "it is open to that objection." The 

 plan we advocate is open to the ob- 

 jection that it would tend to make 

 Entomologists instead of Collectors, 

 and we fear the objection is a serious 

 one. So many people are deterred 

 at the idea of study. Insect collect- 

 ing may do for amusement, but 

 Entomology is a science, and they 



