274 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



sudden stop at the bottom, and the 

 quicker the train is going, the more 

 violent will be the jerk when the bags 

 are exchanged in this way. The 

 question is then, can all this be 

 guarded against. We think it can, if 

 proper precautions are used ; or so 

 nearly so, that damage in transit will 

 be of comparatively rare occurrence. 

 The first thing needed is a suitable 

 box. These are made in various ways, 

 and can be bought as you will see on 

 the back page at reasonable prices, 

 and of approved make. Nevertheless 

 we had our postal boxes specially 

 made, and believe they are superior to 

 anything that can be bought. The 

 wood of which they are formed is 

 willow, a light as well as very tough 

 wood, they are carefully dove-tailed at 

 the corners, and round one-half of 

 the inside, is glued another piece of 

 willow, over which the upper half 

 shuts down. This prevents lateral or 

 side pressure from moving it. Along 

 the joint on one side is glued a piece of 

 strong calico which serves as a hinge, 

 and then the whole box is carefully 

 covered with cloth, such as is used in 

 bookbinding, glued on, and well over- 

 lapped at every corner. A piece of 

 cork is fixed in the top and bottom, 

 paper pasted over it, and it is complete. 

 I had a dozen of them made four or 

 five years ago, they have been in con- 

 stant use ever since, and have been all 

 over the world, and, except one acci- 

 dentally broken, they are all as good 

 as when new. True, they cost about 

 2s. each, but they were worth more 



than that to go through what the^n- 

 have done. Having got your box, yoi |e 

 now want to pack it. If your insecti k 

 are well set, they will have enough o: ie 

 the pin below the body not only to givi lie la'n 

 it a firm hold of the cork, but also t( i 

 enable you to put a thin layer of fin( 

 cotton w@ol between the body and the! 

 bottom of the box. Press the pin in til' 

 it is quite firm, but be very careful not t 

 push off the abdomen, then take a littl 

 cotton wool, put it over the body and in 

 sert a pin on each side in such a w 

 that they cross each other, and hold | 

 body quite firmly in its wrapping 

 The antennas may generally be leflj. .. 

 safely, but in such species as the | . 

 Burnets, that have very heavy antennae ! i 

 these may be sometimes cross-pinned! |1 

 to advantage, put without any cotton 

 wool being used, and the pins are 

 better crossed below the antennae, not 

 above as in pinning the bodies. Dc 

 not be afraid to use more than tv T c 

 pins to each insect, if you think it will 

 make it safer. Now tie up your bo3 

 carefully, and any letter you may haye 

 to send, can be tied down, but undei 

 no circumstances must a letter be put 

 inside. You then require a strip oi 

 cotton wadding, long enough to go two ± 

 or three times round your box. Dc 

 not put it on too tightly, and do not 

 press it too close in putting on the 

 outside cover, but let it be as light anc 

 loose as you can manage, so long as 

 it will keep in its place. For the out- 

 side cover brown paper is general!) 

 used, but the safest thing is eithei 

 black paper, black glazed calico, oi 



