The treasury of natural history, or, A popular dictionary of zoology / by Samuel Maunder.
- Maunder, Samuel, 1785-1849.
- Date:
- 1870
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The treasury of natural history, or, A popular dictionary of zoology / by Samuel Maunder. Source: Wellcome Collection.
813/856 (page 791)
![of a backgammon board, so that when | opened, both shelves will lie flat on the | table ; lined with cork three-sixteenths I of an inch thick on both sides, and covered with paper, having columns ruled on it and numbered, that the collector may take notes of his captures. A supply of the bruised leaves of the common laurel, cou- 1 tained in a gauze bag is pinned into a corner; ; any handy box of pasteboard or light wood will do equally well, or one may be con- structed of pasteboard on the principle of two card trays, having a piece of linen cloth glued behiud in place of hinges. To glue cork firmly upon tin, the surface of the latter must be chipped with the point of a nail ; apply the glue with a brush, and then strew fine sand over it; when dry, pour off the loose particles ; give another coating of glue, and also one on the cork, and press it down | and apply heavy weights equally distributed Ii till it is thoroiighly dry. A pincushion made of several folds of flannel secured be- tween two cards, and affixed to the inside of the coat on the left breast by means of two loops passing over two little buttons. A | common high-shaped snuff-box is very con- venient for carrying a few braces, and three , or four little pill-boxes a-field. A pocket collecting-box, for caterpillars, of any con- I venient shape, having its sides pierced with holes : tin is the best for several reasons ; it is strongest, lightest, and, above all, the coolest for such a purpose ; but a large pill- : box pierced with red-hot needles will do very , well. An ale-gloss or tumbler with a gauze cover, and a little black earth from a hollow tree for the convenience of such caterpillars as undergo their metamorphosis below ground, forms a convenient breeding-cage. For a particular description of Mr. Stephen’s i ■ breeding-cage, and much that relates to the [ collecting and preserving of insects, I beg to ! refer the inquirer to * Insect Architecture I and Miscellanies,’ p. 224., one of Knight’s I [ Weekly Series; the woodcuts will easily i enabie him to comprehend many of the de- ; scriptions given in this little treatise, in the ' preparation of which the author has been studious to avoid all unnecessary expense. A pair of short tin forceps, already de- scribed under the head of Crustacea, for seiz- ing insects; a wet finger and thumb is readiest, and often suj>erior, especially for smull in- sects. The pocket knife and a lens of three magnifying powers ought to constitute part of the naturalist’s daily equipment: a single lens at Is. be/, will show wonders, but a Cod- dington or Stanhope lena is indispensable for small insects. A lantern, 8 inches in height, and about 3 inches square, fitted with a lamp to burn spermaceti oil, and having a polished tin reflector and bull’s-eye glass, is most suitable for mothing; a good one will cost 4s. : it should be furnished with two straps, one for j the waist, the other for the neck. A smull portion of the wick should always be cut off , previous to relighting the lamp. Pry8—The best kind of pins arc the solid headed pins sold by Edebten and Taylor, ] Crown Court, Cheap»ide, but Insect Appara- tus of every kind may be procured at Messrs, j Knight’s, Foster Lane, London. Damaged needles, or, as they are generally I called, cabinet makers’ needles, are most I useful for setting insects ; so are any tall pins, a proportion of which Should be sharply bent to one side with the wire pliers. To form a setting stick, take a needle between the pliers, and push its head into a 6tick 3 inches long, about as thick as a small quill, and secure it with a silk thread well waxed ; the other end is fitted with a small camel’s hair brush. A pin bent ut the point and fitted into a handle is also very useful for setting insects. Braces which are generally of a triangular shape, of various sizes, and trans- fixed by a needle or pin at the broader end. A Setting Box should be formed of deal three-sixteenths of an incli thick, 12^ inches high, and 9 inches square ; the top, sides, and bottom are entire, and to insure stability the latter ought to project half an inch beyond either side ; coarse gauze is nailed on the back, and the door is merely in frame and also covered with gauze ; thus providing for the ready admission of the air and the exclusion of dust There should be two little rings and staples on either side to serve as handles, and a drawer inch deep, sub- divided into compurtments for pins, braces, &c.; it is situated close below a false bottom. Each setting board is covered with cork and then papered, leaving a margm equal to three-eighths of an inch all round ; and the boards are placed an inch and a half above one another : this will give five to the box described, and they are fitted into grooves in the sides. But all this may be done much more cheaply ; fillets may be glued ou the sides to receive the boards, the drawer may be dispensed with, and a curtain fastened to the roof of the box, so that it may be folded up when necessary, which will answer every useful purpose in place of a door. A stand for placing insects on to be exa- mined, may be formed by gluing a piece of cork on one end of an empty cotton reel. For mounting insects on cards, gum traga- canth is superior to gum Arabic ; to five table-spoonfuls of cold water, add a piece of gum the size of a shilling. A bottle, fitted with a glass stopper, containing oxalic acid : A tin box, .5 inches long, 3£ incites broad, by 2A inches high, fitted with cork on the lid, unci having a movable bottom of tin pierced with many holes, resting on points soldered to the sides, six-eighths of an inch above the fixed bottom, the space between them being reserved for bruised laurel leaves ; any con- venient little box fitted with a pasteboard tray may be substituted. Every collector should he content with store-boxes till his collection has become extensive ; handsome boxes of this descrip- tion can be purchased for 10«. ; but auy car- penter can manufacture plain yet useful ones, of half-inch deal, after the fashion of a backgammon-board, in two equal halves, so as to hold insects in each. Dimensions in the clear, us follows : Length 17 inches, breadth I t inches, depth of two halves when closed 3J inches. The inner and upper edge of one half is furnished with a fillet of zinc,](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24864201_0813.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
