“Cop” of “120’s” Cotton on Stand, and Setting-Needle for [“Paisley” Method] of Setting
Specially-made entomological pins can be purchased from all dealers in naturalists’ requisites. Black enamelled pins are the vogue just now, and they last longer than the silvered or gilt ones, and resist “grease” better. Many insects, you should know, have a small, and some a large, amount of oil in their bodies, which gradually makes its presence seen, first in the abdomen, and later it spreads (if not checked) to the wings. The oil, coming in contact with the white or yellow pin, soon corrodes it through; the black enamel resists its action longest. Try to check this “greasing” of your specimens on its first appearance on the body, and if you notice it before it has spread to the wings all may be well. Break the abdomen off at once, and drop it into benzine, where you can let it remain a day or two. Then transfer it to a box of fine dry plaster of Paris for another day or so, and you will be surprised how beautiful and clean it will come out. Another hint: Push a little pin into each body when broken off, and attach a white thread to the pin; now you can do what you like with the body without touching it with your fingers; lastly, replace each body, sticking it in position with a dab of entomological gum, to be had from Messrs. Watkins and Doncaster, 36, Strand, W.C.
Supposing you have arrived home with a few butterflies, and wish to set them. This is best done as soon as possible after they are killed. They may remain unset a few days if kept damp and yet properly aired; you must prevent them from hardening on the one hand, and getting mouldy on the other, through too long and close keeping; so have a watchful eye on them until set.
Setting-boards can be either bought or made. This is a question for each worker to determine for himself. Some collectors may have special facilities for making them, while others may have a profusion of pocket money wherewith to buy them. When I was a boy I made my own. It was a work of necessity. As a lad I had always so many specimens to set in summer-time that it would have been sheer ruination to have bought all the boards required.
On [Plate II.] you have an illustration of a setting-board, and the photograph is in itself an indication of how butterflies are to be set before being placed in the permanent collection. Note the setting-bristle mounted in a cube of cork. This is used to hold the wing in position while the card braces are being placed. The collector can easily mount a bristle for himself. A cat, badger, or other whisker will serve; do not try to push it through the cube of cork, but glue it between two pieces; by doing so you will save your bristle from being spoiled and make a firmer job.
Keep your old thin postcards, from which to cut braces, and always have a boxful of various sizes handy, and in the same box, in a separate compartment, have an abundance of small, thin pins. Good setting, like other operations, is largely a matter of practice. Be careful not to injure the wings in any way, and place your braces on them so that they will not leave marks. I find a common fault with beginners is that they do not lower the specimen far enough down into the groove of the setting-board, with the result that the wings are bent and deformed by the braces pressing them down. See that the wings of your specimens lie flat and naturally spread out over the surface of the board on either side of the groove.
A setting-needle is sometimes an exceedingly useful tool. A very neat one can be made in a few minutes with a goose quill, a little sealing-wax, and the finest sewing-needle you can secure. Melt the wax and fill one end of the quill for half an inch or so, heat the eye end of the needle until nearly red-hot, and push it into the wax. This tool is very useful for adjusting a wing as occasion demands.
Let your insects remain as long as possible on the boards; they should be left on for a fortnight in warm, dry weather, but longer in the spring and autumn. The wings of imperfectly dried specimens are liable to spring up, or droop.
There is another method of setting Lepidoptera which only requires to be more widely known to quickly supersede the use of braces and bristle. It is sometimes called the “Northern” method, but I prefer to call it the “Paisley,” because it was first used in that town. Its advantages are: Greater speed, less apparatus, less expense, and less liability to damage the specimens. Instead of the usual setting-board, a block is used—that is to say, your setting-boards are cut up into short pieces, in length a little less than the width of the board. Thus, a board 2-1/2 inches wide should be cut into pieces 1-3/4 inches long. As no corked surface is needed these blocks can be made or bought very cheaply; the usual cost, from a joiner, is about two shillings per hundred. The only other requisite is a cop of very fine cotton “1208” or even finer if you can get it. This you will be able to obtain from a cotton-spinner or his agent; by-and-by, as this method of setting becomes more widely known the dealers will probably stock a few of these fine cotton-yarn cops.[*] [Plate III.] will show you how to construct a stand for the cop. The rest is easy. Pin your insect in the same way as you would do for braces; place it on the block with wings well down on its surface, holding the block in your left hand. Give your cotton a turn round the extreme edge of the block, then bring it directly above your insect. Now blow the wing on the left side as far forward as you wish it to go, and, while it is held extended by your blowing, bring the cotton down gently across it and there you have it, secured in position. Give two or three extra turns to hold it safe and repeat the operation for the other wing. If the wings should be stiff and refuse to go far enough forward, secure them as far forward as they will blow, with one turn of the cotton only, then gently assist them farther with a setting-needle. When in a satisfactory position, give the few extra turns of the cotton. I can set from sixty to one hundred and twenty insects in an hour by this method.
[*]Readers desirous of adopting this most excellent method of setting, and yet experiencing difficulty in getting suitable cotton-yarn, should communicate with the author, Mr. A. M. Stewart, 38, Ferguslie, Paisley.—Editor.