the specimen. See Fig. 7., “C”. You can make one just as good from a fine-drawn medicine dropper and a pair of bobby pins. The pins, which are made of spring steel convenient in size, have only to be cut or broken at the bow. The hooked portions are bound to the dropper with heavy thread, as shown in Fig. 7., “B”. The early entomologists never bothered with such pretty gadgets; they used straws, not the soda fountain variety, but real old-fashioned grass stems. You could do worse than follow their example, since the straw, becoming a permanent part of the specimen, simplifies both the process of inflation and the subse- quent mounting of the dry skin. You can find suitable straws in any field or vacant lot, or if need be, in the kitchen broom. Select them of various diameters, and as long as possible, inspecting each to be sure it tiring and uncomfortably hot to keep your face constantly a bare straw’s-length away from the stove. Eighteen inches of small rubber tubing attached to the straw will give you welcome freedom. If the straw is too small for the tubing, wrap the end with a strip of paper until it fits snugly. A glass mouthpiece made of a medicine dropper inserted at the other end of the hose is an added refinement. Incidentally, ask for pure natural rubber tubing when you order it. Regard all synthetic plastic compounds with sus- picion. The flavor of the fumes given off by some of them, especially when hot, must be experienced to be believed! In preparing a caterpillar for “blowing,” you will need some absorbent paper, such as towelling, napkins or cleansing tissues; a pair of forceps; a pair A B C Fig. 7. Inflating apparatus for caterpillars. A., Specimen pinned to a natrual straw. B., Medicine-dropper canula with double boby-pin clamp. C., Commercially made outfit with constant-pressure bulb, and single clamp. that it is free of obstruction. Keep an assortment at hand, together with a spool of fine thread or a box of needle-points with which to attach the specimens. For best results, the flow of air through the speci- mens should be constant and steady all the while the skin is drying. This may be as much as half an hour. Even a glass blower might have trouble in maintaining a constant pressure for so long a time by lung-power, but the nearer you can come to it, the better. If you plan to “blow” many caterpillars, you would be well advised to buy a “constant pressure bulb” from a scientific supply house. It will cost two dollars, at the most. Made of rubber, and shown in Fig. 7, it is operated by squeezing the bulb furthest removed from the specimen. This pumps air into the second, or storage, bulb, whence it escapes in a steady stream regulated by a valve at the exit. When inflating caterpillars by mouth, you will find of small scissors; and if the specimen is too large to cover with your finger tip, a roller, such as a pencil or a vial. The animal selected for your first attempt at in- fation should be a moderately large caterpillar, tough of hide and free of hairs and spines. It should also be of a common species, so that its loss, in case of failure, will not be too keenly felt. Delicate, small, and pilose specimens are more difficult to handle. These, to- gether with the rare and precious, should be post- poned until you have achieved a little skill. If the specimen has not been preserved in liquid in the field, kill it with a poison bottle, or by dropping it into hot water. Lay it on a pad of absorbent paper. Then light the fire under the oven, so that it will be warm by the time you want it. With the fingers of one hand, press the larva firmly against the paper, as though to flatten it. This will 6