ore its proper time, it having
been proved that certain moths more than others die in the chrysalis
or pupa state if left to go their full time, notably the "Death's
Head," the "Spurge," and other hawks. The best time for forcing is
about Christmas, and the conditions are simply heat and moisture, the
pupae being placed over a spirit lamp, in a hothouse, on the kitchen
mantelpiece, or by the fire grate even, kept for a week or so at a
temperature of 85 deg. or thereabout, and constantly damped with moss
wrung out in warm water. Bear in mind that heat without moisture will
not do by any means.

The breeding cage itself need not be used, but only the tray, provided
that gauze is stretched over in such a manner as to allow room for the
moth to dry its wings on emergence. But if the whole of the breeding
cage were made of framed zinc (such as aquaria are made of), and the
glass and perforated zinc fixed in, the cost, though greater at first,
would be more than counterbalanced by its greater strength, with
lightness and capability of resisting wear and tear, added to which is
the advantage of being used as a whole during the operation of
"forcing," wood not standing, of course, the heat and moisture
necessary. Breeding cages should not be painted.

Fresh food, and plenty of it, should, if possible, be supplied to the
larvae. Dry food is, as a rule, the best, though the larvae of one or
two of the foreign Saturnidae require their food to be sprinkled with
water, and sometimes even with the addition of salt, to make them
thrive. Moths on emergence should not be killed at once, as they are
then too flaccid, and have not sufficiently purged themselves. Yet
they should not be left too long or over night, as they often fly at
that time, and knock themselves about in the cage, to the detriment of
their beauty; destroying, in fact, the whole aim and end of breeding,
which is of course, instituted to procure specimens for the cabinet as
fine as it is possible to get them.

In collecting insects it is always as well to bear in mind that a
"worn" female, though not of the slightest use to the entomologist,
unless she can be induced to lay in confinement, may become the
progenitor of many, and may thus afford you during the next season
great pleasure in collecting. This being so, I should like to impress
upon my readers (the young especially) the propriety of giving all
insects, not actually noxious, heir liberty, if on examination t