NATUKAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



55 



but it is most conclusively proved, 

 so far as my observations extend, 

 that they most certainly do fill a 

 proper position in the animal scale. 

 Prejudice goes a great way in our 

 opinions of the various animals of 

 our land and it is not reasonable to 

 be governed by popular opinion in 

 many cases. > ... . 



There is a way of telling rattle- 

 snakes and other poisonous species 

 in the United States by a very sim- 

 ple examination, and which is in- 

 variable and satisfactory. If an)' 

 poisonous species of snake is cap- 

 tured, a moment's glance will con- 

 vince one as to its virulent nature. 

 A deep pit is found between the 

 eye and nostril just above the 

 mouth. ' This pit is of an irregular 

 shape and as large in diameter as 

 the ordinary school slate pencil 

 and nearly half as deep in the large 

 rattlers. In smaller specimens of 

 Massasauguas it is not over one- 

 half a line in size. It is found in 

 the Moccasin and Copper-head as 

 well as in all the varieties of rattle- 

 snakes. Of course it is not advised 

 that a snake be examined alive to 

 ascertain if it is poisonous. 



Those who really know the dif- 

 fers nt species can readily tell by 

 many marks, while those who have 

 no knowledge of serpents, will, from 

 the natural feeling of repugnance 

 refuse to handle a live snake. 



The question of the poisonous 

 nature of a dead serpent will how- 

 ever come up in every man's life, 

 and anyone can tell to an absolute 

 certainty by the above well defined 

 pit. If it is absent the snake, if a 

 native of the United States, is inno- 

 cuous. 



Morris Gibbs, M. D. 



Cement for Mending Shells. — 

 Gum Arabic, ten parts; sugar can- 

 dy four parts. For large and 

 heavy shells: Resin, eight parts; 

 bees-wax, two parts; plaster of 

 Paris, ten parts by weight. Melt 

 all together. Slightly warm the 

 fractured edges of the specimen, 

 and apply tne cement. The ce- 

 ment must always be heated a 

 very little before using. All su- 

 perfluous cement may be scraped 

 off when hardened. — RaniiomNotes. 



Insect Collecting. 



This is a subject about which 

 much has been written, and there 

 are many different ideas about the 



methods used, so that something 

 new may be gained from each 

 writer, I have been asked many 

 times, what poison I used, and 

 how I made my lure for night col- 

 lecting. My experience may de- 

 velop some points that will be of 

 advantage to others. 



The first thing to be thought of 

 is the poison to be used to kill the 

 specimens, Some have a prefer- 

 ence for ether, others for cyanide 

 of potassium. I find that the best 

 chloroform is by all odds, the saf- 

 est, cheapest in the end, and pro- 

 duces better results than any other 

 poison. Ether requires a longer 

 time ta kill than chloroform, while 

 cyanide will not answer with many 

 of our delicate-colored insects un- 

 less they are removed from the 

 collecting bottle very shortly after 

 being caught, for if left in a min- 

 ute too long, the powerful poison 

 will act on the delicate coloring 

 matter and either completely de- 

 stroy it or render it several shades 

 lighter, thus spoiling the insect as 

 a specimen. And what collector 

 would wish to stop, should he be 

 on the jump for an hour at a time, 

 in a locality where insects are 

 plenty, and no time to pause with- 

 out the risk of losing some rare 

 specimens, for it takes but a few 

 minutes to spoil a specimen, so 

 quickly does the cyanide eat into 

 the tissues of the body and wings. 

 It answers very well on our larger 

 coleoptera, as they are very hard 

 to kill, but even then, care has to 

 be taken, for it is dangerous to han- 

 dle, or even to breathe the fumes, 

 as it is, with one exception, our 

 deadliest poison. I have used 

 chloroform for several years, and 

 it has given me the best of satis- 

 faction, with no danger in the han- 

 dling. Cyanide stiffens the mus- 

 cles of insects so that it is very 

 difficult to set up a specimen after 

 being killed, even if it is softened 

 by exposure to steam; while chlo- 

 roform merely stiffens them for a 

 few moments, they quickly relax, 

 and can be set up with ease sever- 

 aPhours after being killed. I have 

 had some of our most delicately 

 colored moths soaked with chloro- 

 form in a collecting bottle for 

 nearly half a day, and within two 

 minutes after their removal the 

 chloroform would evaporate, and 

 the colors come out as bright and 

 clear as in life, and even after re- 

 maining in my cabinet for years, 

 show no change in color, and for 

 this reason I am inclined to think 

 that it tends to fix the coloring 

 matter, instead of hurting it. 



Experience has taught me that 

 few boxes and bottles are neces- 

 sary, unless for an extended trip 

 of several days. For a hunt 

 around the suburbs of the city, I 

 provide myself with a folding net, 

 with a handle about four and a 

 half feet long, for lepidoptera, a 

 large-mouthed bottle holding a 

 half-pint or so, and a smaller one 

 for coleoptera, for in dying, the 

 hard bodies and sharp tarsi of the 

 beetles are apt to injure the wings 

 of moths and butterflies, when put 

 in the same bottle. Then, with a 

 half dozen small boxes of different 

 sizes lined with cotton, and a 

 "digger" (a broad-bladed old chis- 

 el) for working around stumps 

 and trees, I am fully equipped. 

 The chloroform I carry in a small 

 vial in a vest pocket. In preparing 

 my collecting bottle, I cut three 

 thicknesses out of cotton batting 

 Ito fit inside the bottle, and glue 

 lightly around the edges to pre- 

 vent slipping, and when on the 

 ground I pour ten or more drops 

 of the chloroform on the cotton, re- 

 newing it in about an hour. When 

 I have a number of insects in 

 either bottle, I remove them to 

 the boxes and add to the same un- 

 til they are full, for I find there is 

 less danger of damaging specimens 

 when closely packed than when 

 only two or three are placed in 

 each box. Paper cut for the pur- 

 pose is a good thing to carry for 

 large, fine specimens. 



For a lure for night collecting, 

 I have found that the best is made 

 with a pint of ale or beer, either 

 fresh or stale with about a pound 

 and a half of dark brown sugar 

 thoroughly dissolved in it. Many 

 collectors put the lure on the trees 

 in the daytime and then collect 

 from them in the evening; but I 

 have found that when this is done 

 the ants, those pests of insect so- 

 ciety, will generally cover the lure 

 before I am ready for work at 

 night, and in such numbers that it 

 is impossible for a moth to alight. 

 About sunset I lure eighteen or 

 twenty trees, putting one or two 

 brushfuls of the lure on each, and 

 then, after waiting fifteen minutes 

 or so, find that it works to a charm. 

 For a lantern I use a large size 

 "bull's eye." The best nights for 

 collecting with the lure are those 

 in spring when the weather 

 is what we call "muggy." In the 

 spring of 1883, when collecting 

 from a lure, I captured 120 moths, 

 besides a number of beetles, from 

 a clump of eleven trees. The 

 moths caught in spring are mostly 

 the Noctuids and Geometrids. 



