.13? > 5 3' »4 > ) 5^ > 'LIBIlArtY OF CONGRESS. ?5 :> ^ t UNITED STATES OF ^AMEIIICA. |, w ■' ^- m ^ V ?3 :3 :::^» ;>:3> -^ .■)' i|/^; i^> ^ ^ J®> :> :'^ 3ie> > ^ *l> -:> > *> 3 ^ ■.i2> >a- :> -->' ?4« '^^ > > >-^ ^^ s> :> fc ---"=; ^ :> sex ■=^ ► > 3L1- "=< » > 5S 1 p ^ >:s ^^^ i> ^ :> ^ ■3 p 3 :> "^Sl& -^ > ^ ^ "IZ)* ""^ 23» ■^ ~> 'j ;> T> i:^^ ^ .J2» _» i>^ > z>> laC^ > H^^ 3^ ■> Ii» " & ^ j» >> i^o "j>:^> »-!£> » ~:> ;> J »> > 3> >- ^ ^ ^>j> ^ ^ > :>j» -> i^ 'J" Zfty ■> »^. ~^^ . .0 :)v> ^> 5 j> > ::» ^5 ._ ,^>>;i* 3^ I 1. ^ »> OZg) ^ ^ ::> > i> >' l> )^& ^L' O :> ^ ^> 3 > 5 >5 :2> ^^ » 3s» ^ ^^ ^ :> >s) :s^ ~» y s ^^ 'V > B -.^ >^ ^■) J]) ^»:> . - ^ ^^ ^^'^ j» )3 >> )■ IP 33 v^^ ^33 '^ >» j,» j3 > 3 ; ; 3 3 ^' -^^ 3 ■ O ^5 >>^ -« ^^ ^3> 7? 6 3> >3> ^5 >^. 3 3?^ ■30 'V. ^ Book lot I(k(iie^. TI^E ^I^T OF- rcseniing |jattti[al Jlbitn^ MAKING AND PRESERVING AND MOUNTING lOTf lEf Mli. MOf HS AND INSECTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS. B"5r E. ^. BTJE3L.E, NATURALIST AND TAXIDERMIST a Pimderson, CriESUid 4 Co., Printers, New Haven. ^ooh fof I^kdie^. TI^E j^T^ro oir rc^^rtiinfl Watiipl Jkmr^, MAKING AND PRESERVING AND MOUNTING ilf f ISf Uli. MOf 1 4^ AND INSECTS OF ALL DESCRIPTIOHS. NATURALIST AND T AXIRDERMIST, /^7.1 ^» Pundereon, Crisand & Co., Printers, New Haven, Conn. V Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S73, by E. A. BUELE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. cP f j^Ff/PF In giving instruction in the different subjects of which this little book treats, the object of the writer has been to give the readers all the infor- mation that is necessary to enable them to be- come proficient in these beautiful pastimes, free from the annoyance of a quantity of unnecessary comment, which is as useless for all practical pur- poses as it is annoying to the beginner. It is usual to fill a book of this kind with a quantity of unnecessary information, with the sole object of making the subject appear more intricate, thus making the directions given appear more valuable. The object of this book being to give solely practical information regarding the subject in hand, and not to confuse the reader with super- fluous comments and directions ; everything that is not necessary to the attainment of the object has been omitted. The following directions fully carried out, will enable any one to become proficient in this art in a very short time. Gather the leaves carefully, taking special care not to bruise or break them, and select only those that are perfect and fully developed ; very young leaves are useless, being too tender to withstand the process they are to go through. Procure an earthen jar that will hold about four or five gallons, fill this with clean rain water, place the leaves in the water smooth sides upper- most ; do not put in more than can be conveniently covered by the water ; now cover the jar with some thin material, such as gauze, crape, or even very thin cotton cloth. The jar is now to be placed in a position where it will be exposed to the air ; if the sun can reach it during the day, it will be better still. Let it 6 remain about two months, taking care to keep it replenished with water according as it decreases by evaporation. Some species of leaves require to remain longer in the water than others. It will, therefore, be advis- able to select those leaves that from their similarity of nature will require the same length of time to decompose, such as Oak, Cherry, Apple, Lilac, Ash, &c., and all kinds that are tough in their nature, these will have to remain in the water about two months ; others, such as Geraniums, Currants, and ferns of all kinds, require a much shorter time — not more than three or four weeks ; but as the weather and the position of the jar has something to do with the process of decomposition which the leaves must go through, no definite rule can be laid down in regard to the time they are to remain in the water, so that it will be necessary for persons to use their own judgement in this matter, by simply taking the leaves out occasionally and gently rubbing them between the thumb and finger. If they have been in the water long enough, the soft parts will separate ftom the fibres, when it will be necessary to remove them. Take them carefully from the water, one by 7 one, and lay them on sheets of vellum paper, placing another sheet of the same on the top ; press them gently with a cloth until as much moisture as pos- sible is removed. Now remove them to another sheet of vellum and rub them gently with the finger until all the green or fleshy part is entirely removed. They will now be of a dirty white appearance, and to make them a beautiful white, they are to be bleached in a solution of Chloride of Lime, which must be made very weak, great care being taken not to allow them to remain in the solution too long, as it is liable to make them brittle. After they are sufficiently whitened, take them out and place them in clean water, wash them thoroughly, changing the water several times. Now take them out and place them on dry vellum, place a sheet of the same on the top, and put them away to dry. When thor- oughly dry they are ready for mounting. This is generally done by arranging them in wreaths, or bouquets, before a background of black or blue velvet, the dark ground throwing out every fibre, giving them a very beautiful appear- ance. The greater the variety of leaves, and the skill 8 displayed in mounting them, will, of course add to the beauty of the collection. Collections of skeleton leaves have been sold as high as two hundred and fifty dollars. The expense of making is insignificant. w h'^ ^i jjil^Hqmng IJatuiiat jlouif^. Flowers of all descriptions may be beautifully preserved in the following manner. . Take a square wooden box about six inches deep, ten long and six wide, and having a lid that is made to slide in and out in a groove. Remove the bot- tom of the box and turn the lid side down, which will now form the bottom of the box. Inside the box, and near the bottom, (that now is,) is to be placed a piece of gauze ; this must be cut to fit the box, and fastened to the inside of the box by means of gum arable, commonly called gum-sticking, such as is used for sticking envelopes, and can be had at any drug store ; this will form a sieve inside the box, the use of which will be presently seen. Now take a quantity of very fine quartz sand, sufficient to fill the box if it should be at any time necessary to do so, place the sand in an iron saucepan, or an iron vessel of any kind, and place it over a slow fire. 10 When the sand is very hot, stir into it about an ounce of spermaceti ; continue the stirring until the spermaceti has completely disappeared. Now have ready the flowers, being particular to select only those that are perfect, and which have been recently cut. Place sufficient sand (which has now been allowed to cool,) in the box to cover the gauze in the bottom. Now place on the sand as many flowers as will cover it without crowding them together. When this is done put in sufficient sand to cover the flowers, taking care not to disturb them, and see that the sand distributes itself among the petals or leaves of the flowers ; this can be done by gently rapping the sides of the box with the hand. When they are completely covered with the sand, repeat the operation as before described until the box is full, all the flowers being buried in the sand in layers. The box is now to be placed in an oven where it will be exposed to a moderate heat for about ten or twelve hours, after which it may be taken out and allowed to cool. The flowers may now be examined, and if found 11 to be perfectly dry, they are ready to be taken out. This Is done by removing the sliding bottom from the box and allowing the sand to run out through the gauze, leaving the flowers resting upon it, thoroughly dry and in a perfect state of preserva- tion. They may now be arranged in wreaths, or bouquets, or in whatever design the fancy may dic- tate. They should be kept in a dry place for a day or two, when they may be placed In vases, forming a lasting and beautiful attraction for the boudoir or parlor mantel. Some very fine collections are sometimes placed beneath glass globes, such as are used for protect- ing specimens of stuffed birds. Butterflies and insects of different kinds may be placed among them, giving the whole collection a truly beautiful appearance, and to the preserving of which the remainder of this little book is devoted. If the flowers when taken from the oven are found not to have been sufficiently dried, they should be replaced and kept there until the drying is complete. Practice In this, as In everything else, makes perfect. :jr^seiimnj9 mi |[ountmjg lutk|lk^, jloth^, ^tc. These beautiful Insects may be preserved, alike from decay, and the attack of spiders and other insects that feed upon them, so that they retain all their natural beauty for any length of time, by ad- hering to the directions given below. In the first place, a few directions for catching them will be necessary, as they are to be captured and killed in such a manner as to prevent the pos- sibility of their being disfigured. In order to do this properly, take a thin gauze net, made in the same shape as the scoop-nets used by fishermen for taking fish from the water after catching them by the hook and line, the handle being about six feet long, and the net fastened to a ring at the end of the handle ; any one with a little ingenuity can make one that will suit every purpose. These insects being nu- merous in all parts of the country during the sum- mer months, no difftculty will be experienced in 13 finding them, though some species cannot be found until late in the summer ; watch the insect until it alights ; if an attempt is made to take it on the wing, the fine dust which forms the beautiful colors of the wings is very liable to be removed by the net. The net should be placed over the insect as gently as possible under the circumstances, and the insect itself taken from beneath it as gently and quickly as possible, to prevent it bruising itself by its attempts to escape ; and now comes a very important part of the proceedings, the killing. There is only one way in which this can be properly done, and, although seemingly cruel, is the most humane method of any that has been adopted by naturalists and taxider- mists, and which not only kills the insect quicker than any other way, but helps in a measure to pre- serve it afterwards. It is done as follows : Take a common pin or needle — either will answer — and place it through the body of the insect, taking care to hold the wings together in such a manner as to pre- vent their being rubbed together ; let the pin be long enough to leave an inch or so protruding ; this will be the large end ; this end is now to be placed in the flame of a candle and allowed to remain there 14 until the insect is quite dead, which will be in five or six seconds ; the pin can now be withdrawn, and the specimen is ready for mounting and preserving. The former is done first, and in the following man- ner : Take a piece of board of a convenient size, say about eighteen inches square and half an inch thick ; on one side of this board grooves must be cut the whole length and about two inches apart, and deep enough to admit the bodies of the insects, which are to be fastened in by means of pins stuck through the thickest part and into the bottom of the groove. The wings are now spread out on either side, placed in the position in which it is intended they should remain, and fastened there by means of pins and pieces of rather stiff paper, cut in a shape somewhat resembling that formed by the outline of the letter V. The pins are stuck through the large end of these, the small ends or points being allowed to overlap and press down upon the wings, the point of the pin being stuck into the board. Have the pieces of paper cut in different sizes, as it will be found most convenient to have a variety ; it is immaterial how many are used so long as the wings are kept in their places ; the insects should be placed in position 15 as soon as convenient after they are caught, as they are liable to become too dry and brittle to admit of their being arranged properly. The mounting is now complete ; they are now to be preserved ; this is done by camphor alone, that being found by taxi- dermists to answer every purpose satisfactorily, ren- dering the specimens entirely free from the attack of other insets, and also from decay, for any length of time ; it has also the advantage of being applied without handling or disturbing them in any way ; all that is necessary to do is to place the board on which the insects are mounted in a close shallow box, that has been thoroughly saturated on the in- side with spirits of camphor ; also place pieces of solid camphor among the insects on the board, securing the pieces by means of pins so that they will not come in contact with the insects themselves. Now close the lid and place the box in some dry place ; let it remain undisturbed for about ten or fourteen days and the process is complete. The in- sects may now be carefully removed from the board and placed wherever it is wished. They have a very beautiful appearance when placed in a shallow box or cabinet case, with a glass front, and hung 16 against the wall ; if arranged in this manner, small pieces of camphor may be placed in the box with them, though it is not at all necessary that this should be done. The above directions fully carried out Will render failure impossible. : «:<: }< '■<«c<: <«*".: ^^ ^- ~«c_ ^«Gi, ^^- 1 ^ ^=- •C ' ■ C: ■ '■:Cc c< . CCC C C c c C CCC c c c C . <5r: CC