THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 35.] SATURDAY, MAY 30, 1857. [Price Id. 
POISONS FOR INSECTS. 
During the last fortnight we have been 
perfectly inundated with recipes for de- 
priving large moths of life. If we were 
to publish the whole of the communica- 
tions received, all incipients,uot made of 
very tough stuff, would forthwith aban- 
don the pursuit, as they would see at a 
glance that every mode was a bad one, 
A, B and C, each using different poi- 
sons, and giving most excellent reasons 
why all other poisons are worse than use- 
less, neither effectively killing the insect, 
nqr improving its personal appearance. 
Of course it happens from this that A 
disapproves of the treatment pursued by 
B and C ; B is utterly averse to the 
plan of operations of A and C, and C 
would abandon Entomology at once 
rather than conform to the modus operandi 
of A and B. Yet the uninitiated are 
of opinion that the collections of A, B and 
C, are about equally line, and that it is 
a mere toss up which is actually the best 
looking. Hence, however individual col- 
lectors may prefer this or that kind of 
poison, it by no means follows that all 
others are objectionable per se. For be- 
ginners certainly the simplest plan is the 
best ; and for juveniles we are not dis- 
posed to recommend an excessive fami- 
liarity with deadly poisons. One corres- 
pondent wrote to caution incipients how 
they handle oxalic acid; the ‘simple,’ he 
himself recommended, being no other 
than prussic acid. Others are fond of 
recommending chloroform. Such com- 
pounds are all very well for medical 
men, and adults who have come to years 
of discretion ; but we do not like to incur 
the responsibility of recommending them 
to the mass of the rising generation. 
Bruised laurel leaves is a convenient 
mode of applying prussic acid, without 
incurring any danger; and if the laurel 
leaves be sufficiently juicy, thoroughly 
bruised, and kept in an air-tight vessel, 
they will retain their virtue for many 
months, and may be used for small 
moths, or large ones, just as the collector 
likes. 
Those who deal in entomological ap- 
paratus would probably find ‘ killing- 
bottles ’ of bruised laurel leaves an 
article which, if well manufactured , 
would command a good and regular sale. 
Half-a-crown paid twice a year for an 
effective ‘killing-bottle,’ would probably 
be cheaper than the present outlay by 
many for more troublesome and more 
dangerous poisons ; and yet we fancy 
half-a-crown would be a paying price for 
the article. 
Herr Dohrn has left London, en route 
for Stettin. Dr. Hagen will leave for 
Kouigsberg next week. 
E 
