, 1891-04-18

bottle Ito be described) in the other hand,
Never touch wing OF moth or butterfly with
YOUR fingers. The colours are in the dusty
down las you call it), which comes off at a
touch. Get a glass bottle or vial, with
large. open mouth, and cork which you
can easily put in and take out. The bot
ties in which druggists usually get gum
inc are the most convenient. 1t should ! OF
be so large that you cannot easily carry
it in your pocket. Let The druggist put
in the bottle a half ounce Of cyanide of
potassium on this pour water to the depth
of about three-f0urths of an inch, and then
sprinkle in and mix gently and evenly
enough plaster OF Paris to form a thick
cream, which will set in a cake in the
bottom of the vial. Let it stand an hour
to set and dry, then wipe out the inside of
the vial above the cake and keep it cork
ed. This is the regular chronological
poison bottle, used everywhere. An insect
put in it dies quietly at once. 1t will last
several months.
These two tools, the net and the poison
bottle, are your catching and killing IN
strumpnts. You know where to look for
butterflies. Moths are vastly more hume
rous. and while equally beautiful, present
more varieties of beauty than butterflies.
They can be found by daylight in all kinds
of weather, in the grass fields, in brush,
in dark woods, sometimes on flowers.
Many spend the daytime spread out, others
with close shut wings on the trunks OF trees
in dark woods. The night moths are more
numerous and of great variety. They
come around lamps, set out on verandas
in the night, in great Numbers A Euro
pean fashion is to spread on tree trunks o
sIrup made of brown sugar and rum, and
visit them once in a while at night with
slnt and 1anfnCn Catch Nnnr moth IN the
net, take him out Of it by cOrnering him
with the open mouth of your poison bottle,
so that YOU can secure him unTubbed.
Now comes the work OF stretching yOur
moths. This is easy, but must be done
carefully. Provide your OWN stretching
boards. These can be made anywhere
with hammer and nail and ST. FPS of wood.
You want two fat strips Of wood about
seven.eighths or three-fourthS Of an inch
thick and eight to fourteen inches long,
nailed parallel to each other on another
strip, SO as to leave a narrow open space
between the two parallel Strj pS. Make
two or three or more Ofthrse. WI h the slit
or space between The strips OF various
widths, for large and small moths and
lutte flies. Make as many of them, with
as various widths of slit, az your catches
may demand. Take your moth by the
feet, gently i'll your fingers, put a long pin
uON through his uOuy, SET me pm uO"H
Ill the slit of the stretching board so that
the body of the moth will be at the top
of the slit and the wings can be laid out
fiat on the boards OH each side. Have
ready narrow slips OF white paper. Lay
ont one upper wing fat, raising it gently
AID carefully by using the point of a pin
to draw it with, until the lower edge of
this upper wing is nearly at a right angle
with the body. Pin it there temporarily
with one pin, carefully, while you draw
up the under wing to a natural position,
and pin that. Put a slip of paper over
both wings, p%inning one emu above the
under wing, thus holding both wings fat
Oh the stretching board. Take out the
pms first put in the wings and let the
paper do the holding. Treat the opposite
wings in same way. Put as many moths
or butterflies on your stretching board as
it will hold, and let them remain in a dry
room for two, three, or more days, accord
ing to size of moths and dampness of
climate. Put them in sunshine or near a
stove to hasten drying. When dry, take
off the slips of paper, lift the moth out by
the pin through the body, and place him
permanently i'll your collection.-Wm. @.
Prime IN N. Y. Jour. of Commerce.