to pierce them underneath the
thorax at the insertion of the first and second pairs of wings with a
steel pen dipped in a saturated solution of oxalic acid. I have
frequently done this myself with good results in the days when cyanide
bottles were unknown, but for the largest hawk moths--"Death's heads"
even--I find nothing to beat a large bottle (a glass jar, such as the
French bottle plums in, does admirably), in which is placed about 0.25
lb. of cyanide. With a killing jar of this kind, which I call the
"home" bottle, I have frequently instantaneously killed mice and even
rats. In fact, the volume of poisonous vapour evolved from one of
these bottles is such, that I advise my readers not to take "sniffs"
therefrom, lest severe headaches, or worse results, should follow.

As it is nearly all but impossible to pin an insect so correctly as
you would wish during the hurry and excitement of butterfly hunting, I
recommend that all insects captured when the collector is from home be
laid on their sides, and the pin passed through the body whilst in
that position. This saves the unnecessary marking of the thorax by
more than one pin hole, as the pin can be removed without detriment to
the formation of the body, and the insect pinned in its proper
position when the collector reaches home.

SETTING.--Having brought the entomologist to this point, I may discuss
what to do to preserve the trophies of the day's chase. First, then,
the insects must be "set." To do this properly is the vexata quaestio
of the day. As a nation we anciently practised the "setting" of
lepidoptera with four or eight braces, two or one underneath and two
or one on top of the wings. The wings were then not so fully extended
as now, but the body was pressed as close to the setting board as it
was possible to get it. The next step was the cork setting board, cut
to show in section nearly a half oval, the bodies were a little raised
from the set, and the rounded points of the fore and hind wings
invariably touched the paper of the cabinet when placed therein,
curling up wherever they touched.

Fig. 47--Section of "Setting Board"

Fig. 47 shows a section of a "setting board" designed to remedy this
evil. The block A is formed of a piece of 0.75 in. deal, 12 in. to 14
in. long, and of varying widths according to the insects required to
be set. Exactly in the centre a groove is "ploughed" to the depth of
0.5 in.; from the outer edges of this groove B the