SCIENCE 
IS 
KNOWLEDGE. 
KNOWLEDGE 
IS 
POWER. 
A Popular Record of Scientific Experiments, Inventions and Progress 
Copyright Secured, 1877. 
Vol. I 
NEW YORK, JUNE, 1878. 
No. 6. 
How to Study Entomology. 
BY F. C. SMITH. 
I. 
N presenting a series of 
articles on the study of 
insects, it is hoped that 
an interest will be cre- 
ated among our young 
readers that will lead 
them not only to the 
collection of specimens 
and filling of cabinets, 
but also to study their 
habits and transforma- 
tions. 
Of late there seems to 
be an increasing interest taken in this, one 
of the most absorbing branches, of natural 
history. 
In the following articles care will be taken 
to use terms that may be readily under- 
stood by those who we hope will be inter- 
ested, and drawings of the necessary appar- 
atus will be rendered as simple and easily 
made as possible. 
Butterflies and Moths. — For these a net 
will be indispensable, though for taking 
moths that fly by night, of which there are 
many varieties, they may be taken in a trap 
which we shall presently describe. 
The Net. — For a net a simple wire hoop 
about twelve inches in diameter is best,, 
fastened to a pole five feet long, which 
should be light enough to use with one 
hand, as occasion will require. Telegraph 
wire may be used, though a size larger is 
better. The ends should be bent to run 
down the sides of the pole four or five 
inches. It can be fastened by winding 
tightly with fine wire, or a blacksmith will 
form a shank on the hoop for a few cents,- 
To this hoop should be sewed a bag of 
Swiss muslin, tarlatan, or mosquito-netting, 
about twice as deep as the diameter of the 
hoop; or a border of strong cloth may be. 
sewed to the bag, and this to the wire. In 
using this net, when you have caught your 
specimen, give the net a half turn, and you 
have it a prisoner in the fold hanging over 
the wire. The same net is used for all in- 
sects that are caught on the wing. 
The Collecting Box. — A large flat cigar- box 
makes a convenient receptacle for all insects 
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