HINTS ON COLLECTING 
T HE formation of a collection of butterflies may be 
achieved in different way^gkFirstly, specimens can be 
obtained from dealers in natural history objects for 
the purpose of study, classification and arrangement in the 
cabinet as a collection. Secondly — a far more satisfactory 
method- butterflies may be bred from the eggs and a careful 
study of their various stages and habits may be made. 
Home-reared specimens may be kept under continuous 
observation and insects in the finest condition may be selected 
for the cabinet. Thirdly, there is the health-giving recreation 
of collecting and studying the living objects themselves in 
their natural surroundings, an occupation of great educational 
value. No other outdoor pursuit presents so many possi¬ 
bilities for the exercise of both mind and body as does the 
delightful study of entomology in the field ; it is indeed the 
acme of instructive observation, and embraces the study of 
botany, for it is impossible to make a study of butterflies 
without also learning much about the vegetation upon which 
the insects rest and feed. 
Although some years ago a learned judge defined the 
collecting of butterflies as a childish occupation, he, like many 
other persons, exposed his utter ignorance regarding the 
immense importance of the study of insects, for it must be 
remembered that some of the most fatal diseases of man 
have been controlled through entomological research. It 
must also be borne in mind that insects inhabited this earth 
long before the coming of Man, and have become the most 
numerous and cogent of all living creatures. Were it not 
for the host of their natural enemies, they, in the course of 
time, would devastate the entire world. 
Net. Of the apparatus required for collecting, the net is 
the most important. There are several different kinds, but 
the most useful and efficient is the kite net, consisting of a 
