e getting hold of
insects, but they are often puzzled when it comes to killing them. It
seems cruel to pin up an insect alive and have it squirm for a day or
two and some means of killing them should be devised. Most of the soft
insects, such as flies, butterflies, etc., can be killed by pressing
their body, in the region of the wings, between one's thumb and
forefinger. Such forms as beetles and wasps can be quickly killed by
dropping them into coal oil or a strong soap suds. Any method which can
be devised for quickly killing the insect, and which will not seriously
mutilate it, can be used.

A convenient killing bottle can be made by sealing a few small lumps of
the deadly poison, potassium or sodium cyanide, in the bottom of a
strong, wide-mouthed bottle, with plaster of Paris; or a few drops of
chloroform or ether on a wad of cotton in a similar bottle, will also
serve as a convenient killing jar.

_Pinning and Preserving a Collection_

[Illustration: Method of pinning different kinds of insects.]

After the insects, have been caught and killed, they should then be
prepared for the permanent collection. Most insects such as wasps,
beetles, flies and grasshoppers should simply have a pin thrust through
their bodies until they are two-thirds the way up on the pin and then
put them away in a box. Such forms as butterflies and moths make a much
better collection if the wings are spread so as to bring out their gaudy
markings. In order to spread butterflies' wings, one needs a spreading
board, which can be made in ten minutes by taking a pine board two feet
long, and six inches wide and on this nail two strips an inch thick, so
that there is a crack between them. The crack should be half an inch
wide at one end and a quarter of an inch wide at the other end, and in
the bottom of it press strips of cornstalk pith so as to have something
soft in which to stick the pins. After a pin has been stuck through the
body of a dead butterfly between the wings, it is then pinned in the
crack so that the back of the butterfly is on a level with the strips.
Then the wings are drawn forward until they stand straight out from the
body when they are pinned down by means of strips of paper and left to
dry a few days until they become perfectly rigid. In this way a most
beautiful collection can be made very easily, but where time and
materials are not available, simply pin them up like other insects,
leaving the wings to hang as the