Fig. 5. Position of the balsa wood strip on the under side of a spreading board. as close as possible, with a small hand saw, and the board is finished. USING THE SPREADING BOARD Every experienced spreader of insects develops individual variations upon the basic idea, which is to extend the wings of the specimen flat upon the board, and keep them there until dry. The method here described is the one in use at this Museum. It pro- duces specimens of good quality more quickly and with less equipment than any other system with which we are acquainted. The necessary tools are illustrated in fig. 7. They are: 1. Glass headed furriers' pins, sometimes sold as veil pins. You will need about ten for each of the specimens to be mounted at one time. They can be bought by the pound from dealers in commercial sewing equipment. Ordinary dressmaker's straight pins will serve the same purpose, but are harder on the hands of the user. Fig. 6. Last step in assembling a spreading board. Fig. 7. Tools used in spreading insects. 1. Glass-headed pins. 2. Special steel insect pins. 3. Scissors. 4. Pin forceps. 5. Pointed forceps. 6. Spreading needles. 7. A lancet for Skippers.