68 
THE ENTOMOLOGISTS WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
miles from the Exchange) to have any 
prussic acid in them, or else I use them 
improperly. For the Tineae (I cannot yet 
make a good job of the Nepticula, I spoil 
five out of six with pinning) I am now 
using vesuvians. Putting the lid of the 
pill-boxes on aslant, so as to leave a slit 
for the smoke to enter, and covering the 
boxes with a tumbler, one or two matches 
produce sufficient smoke to stifle the in- 
sects. I have found that a weak solu- 
tion of corrosive sublimate and spirits of 
wine (vide Waterton) is a perfect preser- 
vative from mites if the objects are satu- 
rated with it, but many colours undergo 
a complete change, and all, I think, lose 
a little of their brilliancy ; a substitute 
for camphor is much wanted. I “re- 
camphor” every three months. — T. Ken- 
oerdine , Manchester ; May 14 , 1857 . 
I find the most effectual way of killing 
moths with oxalic acid is to pierce the 
under side of the thorax with a sharp 
piece of wood dipped in the acid, and 
they die immediately. I generally apply 
chloroform first to prevent them flutter- 
ing and injuring their wings. — E. R. 
Priest, 14 , Parliament Street. 
The best mode I am acquainted with 
is a solution of oxalic acid in spirits of 
wine. I cut a quill in the form of a pen, 
but with no slit: the insect being pinned 
I take a dip of the acid (as I should a 
dip of ink), and holding the pen w ith the 
fore finger and thumb of the left hand, 
the upper part of the thorax resting 
against the nails, I insert the point of the 
pen in the thickest part of the under side 
of the thorax, taking care to let the 
poison penetrate the body of the insect. 
With most moths this method is effectual 
in a very short lime if properly used. 
Some very large insects, such as Ache- 
rontia, Sphinx, Cossus , &c., are so very 
tenacious of life, the females especially, 
that I have occasionally had some diffi- 
culty to render them sufficiently power- 
less to prevent them fluttering, and it is 
necessary to insert the pen two or three 
times with a charge of poison. It is not 
at all necessary to use this mode with P. 
Machaon, or any British butterfly. I 
generally kill these, and also moths of 
moderate size, by first pinning them 
through the thorax, then run the pin, 
w itlr the insect on it, through a card ; 
hold the card by one of the corners, and 
place the point of the pin in the flame of 
a candle: in two or three seconds the in- 
sect is quite powerless, and may be placed 
on the cork and set immediately. In 
answer to another query, corrosive subli- 
mate in spirits of wine applied to the in- 
sect will leave a mark which will destroy 
its beauty, and cannot be removed. In- 
sects are not so liable to the attack of 
mites when they are so pinned as not to 
touch the case or drawer. — Thomas 
Parry, Merthyr Tydvil ; May 1 1 , 1857 . 
Observing a paragraph in your ‘ Intel- 
ligencer’ of last week respecting the use 
of corrosive sublimate and spirits of wine 
for the preservation of moths, I beg to 
offer the following remarks from expe- 
rience ; and if you think them worth 
communicating to Mr. Linnell, I should 
feel obliged by your doing so. Four 
years ago I applied the solution to every 
moth and butterfly I then had with a 
small brush at the under part of the 
body. I can now show you several of 
these specimens into which the mites 
have since entered : however, the solu- 
tion does kill the mites at the time it is 
applied, and will preserve the specimens 
from their attacks for a short time, but 
not perpetually. Respecting the appli- 
cation of the solution, wherever it is ap- 
plied, after it has dried it leaves a white 
mark, not only at the exact point a.t 
which you touched the insect with the 
brush, but if you should happen to have 
your brush saturated with the solution 
it will immediately spread itself through 
the whole body, and often into the wings, 
leaving the white mark, when dried, on 
every part to which it has reached ; and 
ns to immersing the insect in the sola- 
