IHIIIIIfflllllBMrJSs 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
Sa.OO PEIt YEAR. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 30, 1879. 
YOLt XXXVIII. No. 35, 
.WHOLE No. 1544. 
[Entered according- to Act of CongresB, In the year 1879, by the Rural Publishing Company, in the office of the librarian of CongreBB at Washington. — Entered at the Post-Office at New York City, N. Y., as second-class matter.] 
board exit into small pieces. These pieces, Fig. 
11, b, by pinning above the wings, will press 
the latter and hold them in place till they dry. 
After piuning, insects may be kept in paste¬ 
board boxes, boxes made of soft wood, with 
close-fitting covers, or in drawers which may 
slide into a cabiuet. In all cases the closer- 
fitting the boxes are, the better. 
prepare them for it by enlarging the anal 
opening and carefully pressing out through 
this the entire viscera. We may distend the 
body properly by blowing in air through a 
straw, aud while still blowing, bake the body 
in a small tiu oven well heated with a lamp. 
With the proper care the specimens may often 
be saved by this method, so as to represent the 
living appearance almost perfectly. 
The live collector will not bo satisfied to col¬ 
lect and preserve and go no further, hut will 
desire t» watch the marvelous changes pre¬ 
sented by insects during their development, 
and so will desire to rear insects, aud for this 
purpose will need a breeding cage. Here he 
will collect the various parasitic species. A 
glass can, covered with wire cloth, will answer 
for a cheap breeding cage. A box, one foot 
each way, witli one side glass aud one side fine 
wire cloth, will he better. Or he may have 
a neat walnut, case, Fig. 13 with a glass 
door, and gauze back and ends. The writer’s 
case consists of several such apartments, 
separated by wire-gauze partitions. Earth iu 
the bottom of a breeding apartment will serve 
to hold the food plants, and will offer the in¬ 
sects an opportunity, if they pupate beneath 
the ground. Larvae that feed on leaves ought 
to be fed often with fresh food, which is all the 
more acceptable to the insects if dipped in water 
before being placed in the cage. A small bottle 
sunk into the earth at the bottom of the cage 
will hold the plants upright, and if kept filled 
with fresh water will keep the plants more 
fresh. 
THE WATERLOO PEACH 
COLLECTING AND PRESERVING IN 
SECTS.—No. III. 
Messrs. Ellwanger and Barry, of Roch¬ 
ester, N. Y., write to us with regard to a 
specimen ot the Waterloo peach sent us by 
them, and of which the accompanying cut is a 
fair representation. “The fruit is not so large 
as it was last season, owing to the overloaded 
condition of the tree on which it was borne. 
It also ripened a week later than last year. 
We find this to be the ease with all the very 
early peaches we have seen thus far. The 
tree from which the specimen was picked was 
cut back severely last August in order to force 
every bud possible. This, we think, is one 
reason why the fruit is smaller and later than 
PROFESSOR A- 3. COOK, 
Apparatus for Preserving our Specimens. 
a.ts, insects, except those preserved in alco- 
biol or other liquids, mostly for purposes of 
study, are kept iu place iu the cabinet by use 
-of pine. That our collection may appear bet- 
iter, and that wc may he able to exchange with 
other collectors, it is always desirable and 
best to secure special insect pins, and pin ac¬ 
cording to the uniform method generally 
adopted by entomologists all over the globe. 
These pins are louger and more slim than 
common pins, and cost from $1.35 to $1.50 per 
1000. All mature insects, except heel lea and 
hugs, should be 
pinned centrally 
through the ilior- 
ax, Fig. 11. Bee- 
jpqlfey ties are pinned 
through the right 
^ wing cover, a lit¬ 
tle back of the 
pro-thorax, Fig. 
9, while most 
-Fig 9 bugB arc pi " ned 
through lire scu- 
telluni, Fig. 10, the prominent triangular 
piece just at the base of the wings. The dis¬ 
tance from the head of the piu to the insect 
should always be the same, about three-eighths 
of an inch. 
Moths and butterflies, both for purposes of 
study ami exhibition, require to have the wings 
spread. Iu spreading the wings it ia desirable to 
secure the most perfect uniformity, which will 
be accomplished by drawing the primary or 
front wings forward, till the posterior margin, 
is at right angles to the body of the insect, Fig. 
11, after which the posterior or secondary 
wiugs are drawu around to the primaries. 
The wings are drawn around by the use of pins, 
which should bo passed through the wings just 
back of the large main veins. With small, 
delicate moths the greatest care is required 
that we may not tear the delicate organs or 
rub off any of the minute scales on thu body or 
wings. Only perfect specimens arc desired 
iby the best entomologist. To spread iu- 
:sects a spreading-hoard is necessary. This, 
consists of two sott-wood boards, Fig. 11 
d, d, each two feet long, two iuchos wide 
and one-half inch thick, which are held in the 
same piano, aud parallel to each other by 
cross-pieces, and wheu uailed are from one- 
eighth to three-quarters of an inch apart, ac¬ 
cording to the size of the moth, as this space, 
SPREADING HOARD. 
The bottom of the boxes should be lined with 
cork or corn pith, to receive aud hold the pins. 
If the latter is used, it should he boiled in water 
for a time, that the pins may not corrode. The 
boxes will look better if the cork or pith is 
covered with clean white paper. Two sheets 
of heavy white paper, spread upon a frame 
just large euough to puss closely into the box, 
one held one-qnarter Inch, and the other one- 
half inch from the bottom of the box serve well 
to hold the insects, especially if the bottom 
of the box is of very soft wood, which 
will receive the points of the pins. In piu- 
niug insects, heavy forceps, either straight 
or bout, Fig. 13, are very desirable. In¬ 
sects in boxes must lie kept from the mice 
and carefully guarded from muths and other 
insects. These latter are the greatest pests of 
the cabiuet, and can only he kept from doing 
serious mischief by the most active vigilance, 
on the part of the entomologist. Rectified 
benzine will destroy these museum pests, and 
not harm the specimens. It is better to exer¬ 
cise so much caution that we shall be free from 
these ruthless destroyers. Very close boxes 
or cases, which are never to he left unclosed, 
and placing all new insects in quarantine 
boxes before putting them into the cabinet, are 
among the safeguards. 
BEETLE PJTSfcEP 
usual. Mr. Davidson's secdliug, raised at 
Valnceville, Ohio, and seut us for examination, 
was ripe last summer on July 9. and meas¬ 
ured seven inches in circumference. Those 
sent, this season arrived on the 29th of July 
and were not tlieu fully ripe. They averaged 
GJ inches iu circumference, exhibiting a 
marked difference iu size and time of ripening; 
The Cumberland and Musser peaches, received 
oil July 2Gth, from H. M- Engle & Son, Ma¬ 
rietta, Pa., measured fit inches in circumfer¬ 
ence, aud Downing, Saundcr's aud Wilder 
grown here, measured the same. Amoug all 
these, Waterloo averages the largest.” 
THE ALEXANDER AND AMSDEN 
PEACHES. 
I have before nie, as I write, two baskets of 
beautiful Alexander and Amsdeu peaches, 
which have jnst been gathered from young 
trees in our experimental orchard. As I look 
upon this handsome, lucious, early fruit, I 
wish your readers could enjoy the sight. As 
they eanuot, probably it will be interesting to 
them to learn how remarkably fine these 
peaches have been with us this season. We 
have several trees of each variety In bearing, 
aud they are weighed down with fruit, pro,' 
seating an unusually attractive appearance. 
The first really ripe peaches were gathered on 
August title To-day, the 8th, there is an 
abundance of ripe fruit. In appearance these 
varieties resemble each other so closely that it 
is almost impossible to distinguish them. AJ- 
exauder, however, averages larger and will, 
most likely, prove to be the favorite on that 
account, allhough Amaden is a little better iu 
quality. Compared with Early Beatrice 
growing iu the same orchard, Alexander is 
about three days earlier, aud about six daj s 
earlier than Early Louise and nearly ten days 
iu advance of Haiti a’s Early. Beatrice is so small 
aud of such Inferior quality that It must soon 
be discarded, aud so with Early Louise, Down¬ 
ing aud Wilder. These ripened here about the 
same time as the Alexander, but are not so 
large. Cumberland and Musser tnhy ripen 
a little earlier than Alexander, bat they also 
INSECT BREEDING CASE. 
Insects may be seut by mail at a very light 
expense. They may he pinned to a cork at 
the bottom of a light wooden box—paste hoard 
Uoxcb are upt to ho crushed in the mails—or 
wrapped carefully in cotton batting. Larval 
insects should be inclosed, together with some 
fresh food, in a perfectly tight box. They need 
no air, and iu close boxes the food will keep 
more, fresh. 
I closejhis paper with the hope that some 
may lie led, by its production, to study those 
pages of nature, which ever serve to interest 
aud give valuable instruction to him who is so 
happy as to he led to their perusal. The writer 
is indebted to Mr. 8. Upton, of the sophomore 
class iu the Michigan Agricultural College, for 
the above drawings. 
is to permit thu 
body of theiusect 
to pass through 
so that the wiugs 
slut!I come down 
T ▼ to the plane of 
1 the upper surface 
* of the boards. 
Beneath the open 
Fig 10 s P ac °. cork or 
corn-stalk pith, is 
fastened, that It may receive the pin and help 
to hold the insect more securely. The spread¬ 
ing board illustrated is one of seven drawers, 
belonging to the writer which rest iu a neat 
walnut ease, with wire-gauze door aud back. 
This arrangement prevents injury from mice, 
& c -j aud from its ample ventilation, secures the 
rapid drying of the specimens. The drawers, 
Fig- ll are 10 by 13 inches. Below these 
drawers iu the ease Is a common drawer for 
holding pins, forceps, &c. To hold the wings 
when spread, small rectangles of glass, Fig. 
Hi a, with edges ground off, are laid upon 
-them. Some entomologists prefer thick eard- 
bug pinned 
To Destroy tub Peak Slug, which fortu¬ 
nately feeds on the upper side of the leaf, air- 
slaked lime, or lime carefully slaked with just 
enough water to cause it to fall into a dry 
powder, is recommended as the most effective 
application. Next to this come wood ashes. 
It those are placed iu a bag of mosquito.net¬ 
ting, or some other open fabric tied to a pole, 
they can he readily dusted over the leaves. If 
only a little comes in contact with the slug, ils 
hours are numbered. Hellebore used us upon 
Cherries, is also sure death to the pest, and 
even au application of road dust will kill it in 
most cases. 
pinning forceps.— Fig.—13. 
Larval insects may be kept in alcohol, or, to 
better preserve their color, iu benzine. If it is 
desired to pin the larvae in the cabinet, wc may 
