THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
[August  i,  1892. 
1 14 
excess  of  water  extract  over  the  spirit  extract  would 
indicate  mucilaginous  matter,  and  on  the  barks  being 
placed  in  the  toddy,  which  in  a fresh  state  is  a 
watery  solution  of  sugar,  with  some  albuminous 
matter,  the  extract  would  dissolve,  but  as  fermen- 
tation proceeded  alcohol  would  be  formed  and  the 
mucilage  would  be  insoluble  and  precipitate,  carrying 
down  with  it  the  viscid  albumen  and  thus  allow  the 
sugar  to  ferment  more  rapidly.  From  the  fact  that 
other  gum  barks  bssides  the  litsasas,  such  as  Kydia 
calycina  and  Guazuma  tomentosa  are  largely  used 
in  clarifying  sugar,  it  is  evident  that  some  such 
object  as  this  is  intended  in  their  employment.  The 
astringent  qualities  of  most  of  the  above-mentioned 
barks  are  no  doubt  used  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
insoluble  compounds  with  albuminous  matter  in 
saccharine  solutions ; just  as  hops  are  used  to  re- 
move this  substance  from  malt  liquor  in  the  ordinary 
process  of  brewing  beer.  The  hops  are  found  to 
prevent  in  a great  measure  the  tendency  of  the  beer 
to  become  sour,  in  consequence  of  the  conversion  of 
alcohol  into  acetic  acid,  and  in  warm  climates  where 
such  liquors  are  apt  to  run  into  the  acetous  fermen- 
tation very  rapidly,  it  is  necessary  to  employ  as- 
tringent drugs  to  regulate  the  formation  of  alcohol 
and  prevent  the  development  of  acetic  acid. 
The  natives  consider  these  barks  a necessary  in- 
gredient in  making  spirit,  for  the  following  reasons. 
Firstly,  they  diminish  the  great  sw-eetness  of  the 
toddy  sugar.  Secondly,  they  render  the  spirit  more 
intoxicating.  The  first  of  these  phenomena  is  ac- 
counted for  by  the  chemical  fact  that  sugar  breaks 
up  during  fermentation  into  two  other  bodies,  alco- 
hol and  carbonic  acid  ; and  in  the  second  place  the 
barks  enable  the  operator  to  obtain  a larger  pro- 
portion of  alcohol  from  his  toddy  than  he  could 
get  from  leaving  it  to  brew  without  such  adjuncts. 
The  analyses  of  the  barks,  with  the  exception  of 
the  litsceas,  which  contain  laurote-tanine,  has  revealed 
no  principle  of  poisonous  or  intoxicating  properties, 
therefore  the  idea  of  their  directly  communicating  a 
potency  to  the  spirit  is  not  sufficiently  established, 
and,  besides,  as  the  spirituous  liquor  is  submitted 
to  distillation  afterwards,  any  alkaloid,  such  as 
strychnine,  would  be  left  behind  in  the  retort. 
Some  of  the  barks  are  aromatic  and  these  most  likely 
are  used  to  flavor  the  resulting  spirit  which  would 
be  the  case  if  the  aroma  resided  in  a volatile  oil. 
It  is  probably  a spirit  of  this  kind  that  Dr.  Ainslie 
refers  to  under  the  title  of  Puttaicharagum,  or  bark 
spirit,  an  alcoholic  liquor  in  which  barks  of  various 
acacias  are  used  in  the  manufacture. — Oil,  Paint  and 
Drag  Reporter. 
THE  APPARATUS  REQUIRED  FOR 
COLLECTING  INSECTS  IN  INDIA. 
The  following  are  Mr.  E.  C.  Cotes’  methods:— 
Killing  Bottle.— A simple  and  effective  killing  bottle 
a made  as  follows : — 
Two  or  three  lumps  of  cyanide  of  potassium,  each 
as  big  as  an  acorn,  are  dropped  into  an  empty  qui- 
nine or  other  widemouthed  glass  bottle  enough  plaster 
of  Paris,  made  by  mixing  the  dry  powder  with  water 
to  the  consistence  of  cream,  is  poured  in  to  cover 
of  the  lumps  of  cyanide.  The  bottle  is  let  open  for 
a few  hours,  until  the  plaster  has  sent  hard,  when 
it  is  tightly  corked  up  and  after  remaining  closed 
for  a day  or  two  is  ready  for  use. 
The  plaster  and  cyanide  sent  into  a solid  mass, 
which  sticks  fast  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle,  the 
object  of  the  plaster  being  to  hold  the  cyanide  in 
place,  and  the  whole  mass  has  a smooth,  even  sur- 
face from  which  insects  can  be  easily  picked-up,  the 
glass  sides  of  the  bottle  enabling  the  insect  to  be 
easily  seen. 
A few  minutes  in  a good  killing  bottle,  thus  made, 
is  sufficient  to  kill  most  small  insects,  but  some  of 
the  larger  species  of  insect  require  to  be  kept  in  it 
for  several  hours  to  insure  their  not  reviving. 
A killing  bottle,  when  carefully  used,  should  last 
for  a good  many  months,  a great  thing  being  to  keep 
t tightly  corked  up  and  always  to  close  it  quickly 
after  taking  out  or  putting  in  an  insect,  thus  allow- 
ing as  little  as  possible  of  the  cyTanide  vapour  to 
escape. 
Old  quinine  bottles  do  very  well  for  all  ordinary 
purposes,  as  killing  bottles,  they  are  cheap  and  of  a 
convenient  size,  but  are  not  big  enough  to  take  the 
largest  moths  and  beetles,  so  for  these  a larger  size 
of  bottle  should  be  obtained. 
Killing  Butterflies. — All  insects  can  be  killed  in  a 
killing  bottle  but  for  butterflies  it  is  quite  sufficient 
to  fold  the  wings  together  over  the  back,  and  then 
to  pinch  the  thorax  between  the  finger  and  thumb ; 
this  kills  the  insect  ^without  injuring  its  wings. 
Preserving  Insects  in  Alcohol. — Eggs,  pupae,  and  soft- 
bodied  insects  (such  as  caterpillars  and  grubs)  can 
be  at  once  killed  and  preserved  by7  dropping  them 
alive  into  strong  alcohol,  where  they  do  not  putrefy 
or  shrivel  up  as  they  would  be  liable  to  do  if  it  were 
attempted  to  dry  them. 
Small  Insects. — All  small  insects,  when  taken  out  of 
the  killing  bottle,  should  be  at  once  pinned,  or  else 
gummed  on  to  little  pieces  of  cardboard  or  mica, 
great  care  being  taken  in  gumming  them  not  to 
smear  the  gum  over  their  bodies ; the  little  bits  of 
card  or  mica  can  be  pinned  down  into  cardboard 
boxes,  and  thus  closely  packed  to  travel. 
Medium-sized  Insects. — Medium-sized  insects  (includ- 
ing all  butterflies  and  most  moths)  can  be  ■wrapped 
in  soft  paper,  when  they  come  out  of  the  killing 
bottle,  and  as  soon  as  they  are  dry,  can  be  packed 
lightly  but  closely  together  into  tight-fitting  tin 
boxes,  with  a few  lumps  of  camphor  or  naphthaline ; 
in  this  way  they  can  be  sent  long  distances  by  post 
without  fear  of  injury.  Simply  drying  the  packets, 
which  contain  the  insects,  separately  in  the  sun  and 
air  for  two  or  three  days  being  quite  sufficient  to 
preserve  their  contents. 
Large  Insects.— Large  insects,  especially  those  with 
stout  abdomens,  require  to  have  the  contents  of  the 
abdomen  removed  and  the  shell  stuffed  with  cotton 
wool,  after  which  they  can  be  dried  and  packed  like 
the  medium-sized  insects  above. 
Keeping  Dried  Insects.  — All  insects  when  thoroughly- 
dried  can  be  kept  in  any  close-fitting  box  or  case 
which  contains  a little  camphor  or  naphthaline.  It 
is  essential,  however,  for  the  case  to  be  itself  per- 
fectly dry  and  practically  air  tight. 
Insect  Ket.—A  simple  and  serviceable  net  for 
catching  insects  can  be  made  out  of  mosquito  cur- 
tain stretched  on  a cane  hoop  with  a bamboo  handle 
attached. 
Forceps—  A pair  of  forceps,  which  can  generally 
be  made  locally,  will  always  be  useful  for  picking 
up  small  insects. 
On  sending  insects  for  determination. — In  sending 
specimens  of  insect  pests  to  entomologists  for  de- 
termination, each  pest  should  be  kept  carefully  by 
itself,  and  when  possible  specimens  should  be  sent, 
in  all  stages  of  development  and  in  considerable 
numbers,  accompanied  by  any  notes  on  the  habits 
of  the  insects  and  a full  account  of  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  damage,  also  any  specimens  (such  as 
half  eaten  leaves,  bored  wood,  damaged  grain,  Ac.), 
which  throw  light  on  the  nature  of  the  attack. 
Live  specimens  are  always  easier  to  make  out  then 
dead  ones,  so  they  should  always  be  sent  when  there 
is  a reasonable  probability  of  their  surviving  the 
journey  ; chrysalides  and  cocoons,  especially,  should 
be  sent  alive  packed  in  a perforated  box  with  leaves 
or  grass. 
So  little  is  at  present  known  of  Indian  entomology 
that  the  exact  determination  of  specieB  is  often  a 
matter  of  very  great  difficulty.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  furnishing  full  particulars  and  also  of  collecting 
a considerable  number  of  specimens  in  each  case, 
as  these  are  often  of  great  assistance  in  making  out 
the  affinities  of  an  insect,  and  in  any  case  from  a 
most  valuable  record  for  comparison. 
Materials. — The  following  materials  are  sufficient 
for  collecting  a vast  number  of  insects,  and  would 
probably  last  one  collector  for  at  lesat  a year. 
In  the  absence  of  prioe  lists  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  the  exact  cost  would  be,  but  from  R5 
to  R20  would  probably  buy  all  that  could  possibly 
be  wanted  by  one  collector. 
