Four pounds darkest sugar.
One quart New Orleans molasses.
One pint stale beer or ale. (This should have been allowed to stand uncorked in a warm place for a week, before using it.)
Mix all together and heat gradually. Boil till about as thick as varnish, which takes about five minutes. When cool add four ounces of Jamaica rum. Cork loosely and keep in a cool place. The strong odour of this mixture pervades the air for a long distance, and proves attractive to the olfactories of moths though none of us would care to have it about.
A good evening's work at sugaring ought to furnish moths enough to keep you busy spreading all the next forenoon. A night in the cyanide jar will do them no injury. It is well to have a pair of light pincers to take specimens out with. If all are emptied out at once some will dry too much before you are ready to spread them. Every time they are handled they lose part of the scales and become slightly defective. If practical, put the very large specimens into the jar hinder end first. This will make it easier to get them out head first.
It is almost inevitable that the inveterate collector of insects shall become a naturalist. By constant watching, he discovers how insects live, and how they affect plants. He will witness many a tragedy. He will find that there are among them thieves and robbers, pirates, cannibals, assassins, scavengers, and disease carriers. He will witness many acts of heroic self-denial, some feats of strength, endurance tests, and acrobatic turns. He will admire the ingenious architecture and wonder at the never ending variety of forms, colours, and markings they exhibit. Many questions will come up in the course of his studies. He may seek the books in vain for information on some of the commonest insects of the garden. Entomology is a new science. Boys and girls who begin the study by collecting their first insect to-day may, before they stop, discover some important fact to add to the sum of human knowledge and make the world a better place to live in.