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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 6 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) ^g"- '653 East Main Street ~-a= fPf!'?^''"'' New York U609 USA '-g=a (7 ' 6) 482 - 0300 - Phone =B: (716) 288-5989 -Fox inc 4 R.-print«l from EmcAT.ON*L Rkvikw, March, 1898 /7 ^ ' ^ / / NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. $120 in Prizes for In»iects and Plants. A gentleman interested in Natural science and its relation to farming and fruit growing has given to the Natural History Society of New Brunswick the sum of -f l.)0, to be distributed in prizes, after deducti.^^ $30 tor expenses, for collections of insects, fungi and weeds His chief stipulation is that the schools shall l«, inter- ested m this work, so that the advantages shall l„. educational as far as possible; and that the youn-^ people, and through them their elders, shall be led to " take an interest in those forms of insect and plant life jKJth injurious and beneficial, that effect so largely our agricultural and horticultural interests. The Society is fully alive to the importance of th^ work everywhere being undertaken by governments societies and individuals to grapple with the pests that' annually entail such loss to farmers and fruit growers and It hopes that this, the first systematic attempt iii this province to create a general and practical interest in this direction, will call forth the active in^^rest and co-operation of farmers, teachers and students through- out New Brunswick, so that the fullest advantage may reaped from this generous offer. The Society takes this early opportunity to issue the tollowing plan governing the conditions and distribution of the prizes, with directions to students intending to compete for them : Conditions. 1. The competition is open to the province. 2. All specimens are to be collected in New Bruns- wick and exhibited by the collector. 3. The collections are to be handed in not later than the 1 5th of September, and are to be exhibited at the Exhibition to opened in St. John about that timt^r^p^^^\^^ 'fRSITt 4 The given amount-.^ ISO-is to be apportioned a. follows : .$60 for insect collections ; «60 for plants (fungi and weeds), and S30 for expenses. (a) Insecf...~The collection of insects is to be divided mto three groups representing (1) injurious, (2) bene- ficm and (.3) other insects, with labels showing the name locality and date of capture. ' A'ote.-The naming of the more difficult species will be a matter of Homeconcern toyounger students especially but that need not deter them from n.aking and handing m collections, but the prizes will l^ awarded to those best fulfilling the conditions set forth above A first prize of .$2.5 wil- be awarded for the best and most complete collection of insects ; .f 10 for the second and five additional prizes ($7, $6, $.5. $4, $:i) for other- collections in order of merit. (b) Fungi.~Co\]eotior.s of fungi must be made on full sized botanical mounting paper- if large. Smaller specimens may be mounted on sheets one-half or one- fourth the size of above according to size of specimen As in the case of insects, the fungi are to be divided into three groups-injurious, beneficial, and others n^ included in these two classes. A first prize of .$20 will be awarde'd to the best and most complete collection ; $10 for the second, and two prizes ($6 and $4) for the next collections in order of merit. (c) Weeds.- The collections of weeds dried, and mounted on standard sized paper, are to be properly labelled with name, habitat, place and date of collection A prize of $10 will be given for the best and most complete collection of weeds, and two prizes ($6 and $4) for the second and third. J^otes.— Additional value will be given to any of the above collections if they are accompanied by short notes descriptive of the habitat, ravages, habits, etc., of each species, such as a student would make for his own 3 information, as ^veIl as to cultivate hahit.s of ol)servation and make the colle(,tions of more .service to l.imself and others, • If in the opinion of the judges any collection \ye con- sidered lacking in merit, it shall not receive a prize. DlRECTnONS FOR CoLLECTINO AND PrksERVINc; InsECTS. For collecting insects the following articles are required for practical work : The llnfterfly .\^./.-This is used for <-apturing flying insects. A cheap and useful home made net may >« constructed as follows : Take forty inches of strong iron or brass wire ; at each end hend about four inches at right angles ; bring these ends together, thus forming a circle ; this may be strongly bound to a light bamboo stick about four feet long. The bag or net may be made of silk gauze or leno, and should taper to tfte bottom. The length should be twice the diameter of the hoop. A more convenient net may be made by having the ring soldered to a tin or brass ferule which may be made to fit the end of the bamboo rod, and thus can be detached when not in use. The Sweeping Net may be constructed on the same principle as the butterfly net, but with a shorter handle and 18 used by holding the handle of the net firmly in one hand and quickly sweeping the tops of grass u\ other low-growing plants, first from right to left, an.f then, after quickly turning the net again, sweeping from left to right. The sweeping net should be made of stronger material than the butterfly net. Th^ Water Net is used for capturing insects or insect larv* which live in the water. It may be made in the same way as the other nets, with this exception : that the bag may be shorter and of coarser material, such as ' grass cloth," or coarse millinet. The Umbrella is one of the most useful instruments of the collector. It is used as follows : The open and inverted umhrella ih held with the left hand under th<' hianches of treoH or shrulm which the collector intends to relieve of itH insect inliahitants, while the rifrht hand, armed with a heavy stick, is free to properly shake the l.ranch. The Chisel in used for securing the insects living,' or hiding under the hark of dead or decaying trees. The Trowef is used in digging for the hurrowin^ heetles, ants, crickets, and the many insects which construct subterranean nests. The Collect mg Tweezers are for picking up specimens and transferring them into the various bottles, vials or boxes which the collector carries for the reception of material collected. The Kil/inyliotfle.-- PerhapH the best method of killing is by the use of cyanide of pota.ssium. Large specimens are killed by simply putting' them in what is known as the " cyanide bottle." This may be constructed as fol- lows : Take a short, wide-mouthed bottle ; break uji a quantity of cyanide of potassium into pieces of conven- ient size ; place a layer of these in the bottom of the lx)ttle; then mix a quantity of plaster of Paris with water— just sufficient to make the mixture serai-fluid — and pour it over the cyanide so as to cover it. The bottle is then left open for an hour or two until the plaster is thoroughly dry. Mounting Insects. — In mounting insects for the cab- inet, entomological pins, made expressly for the purpose, should be used. Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the sizes most commonly required. After returning from a collecting excursion the specimens should be prepared as soon as possible. Take the specimens from the collecting bottles and spread out on a sheet of white blotting paper, and with a soft, dry brush cleanse from any adhering im- purities. Specimens wiLh hard covering may be washed with benzine. Insects should be pinned through the centre of the thorax, when, as is more generally the case, this portion is largely developed. Beetles {Coleoplera) x arifl hu^'H (Ifnitiph-rn) slMUild, however, \m pinned the former tluou^h die rij^ht elytron, or mn^ covrr, iind the latter throii^jh the scutel, or trian;,'ul!ir pieee hehind the thorax. Th(^ specimens look pretty witli all tlie higs spreacJ out, hut for practical purposes it is better to let them dry in a natural, partly bent position. The pin should proj(!Ol about thre(>-ei«j;hths of one inch above the the insect, to nuike handlinj,' ea.sy, and uniformity in this particular will havi- much to do with t!ie neat ap pearance of the collection. Monntiny on Pointx. Most insects which aie tod, with the head pointed forward. Setting op Insects. -For the pi-oper setting of in- sects with broad wings, such as butterHies and moths, a spreading-board is necessary, and may be made as fol- lows : Take two pieces of thin pine boar-d, fourteen inches long anr' ..9 and a half inches wide, nail the.se upon end piece j three inches long and one and a half inches deep at eacii end, narrowing to one inch and one- eighth in the middle. When the top pieces are nailed on these ends, an opening is left in the centre wide enough to admit the btxiies of insects to be spread. Strips of cork or pith in which to fasten the pins may then be tacked or glued below so as to cover the inter- vening space. These spreading-boards are made of different sizes to acconmiodate different sizes of insects- 6 Tn Hprea,ling in«crt« on tl,«so ho.nls, fust pin tluMnnect, tfuM, shc.v,, tl... pin U.nuiKh tlm cork, allowing tfu- InKiy to Ht into th.. Kn«,v„ i„ th,. settir.K Imrd. Tl.r winus can tlmx Im, pinn.-.l and kept i„ p„„iti„„ i,^ ,tHp„ of P'ip.«r. To obtain uniformity in tho ponition of the w.ngM, have the inner nuui(ins of the front winKs a. nearly an posHihh, on a straight line. WJ.en th.. speci- mens are thoroughly ,lry they ,„ay Ik,- removed fron, the boards. Pres.rviny in Alcohol.-^- Tf.is nu-ans of preserving caterpillars and the many soft bodie.J insects and insect arvae w tcK> well known to re.juire any extended men- tion here. Specin.ens which are to be preserved i,. this way should 1x3 kept for a day or two in alcohol diluted with seventy per cent, of water and afterwards removed to alcohol containing forty j^r cent, of wate-. Labdliny .%fm«n«.--Specimen.s will be of very little value, no matter how much care an.i pair.s have been taken in preparing them, if not properly labelled giving ".formation as to locality, date of capture, and collector's name with a number referring to a note-book where any observations made should be carefully recorded. This habit cannot be too strongly emphasized. The collector should never be without his note-book. More profitless work can scarcely Ih. imagined than collecting natural history specimens without some specific object for a properly kept record forms an indispensable part of every well made collection. A good method is to use two labels for every insect. The upper label should indicate on the first line the sex-mark and locality as St. J. (8t. John). The second line, date of capture, and third line number referring to note-book, and initials of collector The lower label bears the name of the insect Ihese labels are fastened to the pin on which the speci- men is mounted. Insect Cases.-^A convenient size for these cases is eighteen inches by twelve, outside measurement. They i Hhculd ho porfeot.y tight an.l not over tw., and « half >"•■».•-.....,, on th. insido. Th. tup .nay 1„. .,f «,„,„ ,,,, the hottonHuH.. with <.rk .... sonu. n.^^^^^^^^^ hold th. p.„. The wh.,1,. insid. should l„, lined with white papor. Arrarujnnent of hu^^cA. in CW.. The ahno.,t nni v e,.al cuHton. of collecto.. is to arrHng. in^ectH in pa.allel columns,,, the cas.H. In .egard t. the HmaUer fonnn as coleopt«.,.a, hyn.enopte.a, .hptera, two and a half to lu-ee ...ches ,n width is allowed fo.- the colu.nnH, and for the large,- innects as lepidopte,-a, a,.d o.thoptera, four IteH 7 "■ " '" '"""' '"'^^"^^'"•>'- ^'^'' «'-'■"'- "Htena , a snn.lar arrange.nent ,nay In, followe.1. It i« .« Vsable to have at le..t four sj^oimens of a specien wh.ch, entou.oIogically speaking, constitute a «et. As far HH the conditi..ns of the con.petition will allow, the ollechons should he ar.anged in a syste.natic n.a .nor the order family. su.,-fa...ily and ge,.us l.ing i„di ^ i as far ..known. The species should 1. arnu.ged serially m accordance with the latevst catalogue obtainable. For the prevention of injury by in.oct pests the col- ^ction should be kept in tight boxes, .u.d naphthaline cones p.nned in convenient corni,. in M... cases Of necessity the fo.-egoing .-e.narks o,. c.tomotaxy have l>een very brief, and consequently incon.plet. There IS much that the young stude.t will have to learn fro.n books, from experience and by putting himself m communication with experienced entomlgists Of books the following are recommcded : Packard ^ntomology for Beginners, price $,.40; Com. ock Manual for the Study of Insects. |3 40 J. Abbott Fraser, 93 Sudbury street. Boston. DiRKCTIONS FOB CoLLECTINa AKD PkesKBVINO FuNru. It would be impossible within the limits of this article to give more than a few general directions for the col- 8 '/ lection and preservation of some of the commoner forms of fungi. No time of the year, except when the ground IS covered with snow, is barren of fungi, but it is in mid- summer, and from that time till frosts set in, that their ravages are most appa-nt and destructive, when as r,^sts, smuts, mildews, bhyhts, etc., they are such a source of injury to cultivated plants. The collector may be provided wfth an ordinary col- lecting box, such as is used for flowering plants, but for Agarics. (mushrooms, etc.,) an open shallow basket is preferable. A great number of woody kinds may be carried in the coat pocket, and the ordinary kinds that have their habitat on leaves, may be placed between the leaves of a pocket book, from which they may be transferred to driers on the return home, and dried and mounted m the same way as flowering plants. The Fleshy Fungi,~ln order to preserve the fleshy fung, for the herbarium the following method is usually adopted : The agaric, or other similar fungus, is cut perpendicularly from the pileus (cap) downward through the stem. A second cut in the same direction removes a thm slice which represents a section of the fun-us • this may be laid on blotting or othor plant-drying paper and put under a slight pressure to dry. From one half the fungus the pileus is removed, and with a sharp knue the gills and fleshy portion of the pileus are cut away. In the same manner the inner flesh of the half stem are also cleared. When dried, the half of the pileus IS placed in its natural position on the top of the half stem, and thus a portrait of the growing fungus is secured, whilst the section shows th.. arrangement of the hymenium (spore-bearing surface) and the character of the stem. The other half of the hymenium may be placed gills downward, on a piec-^ of black paper, and allowed to rest there during the night. In the morning the spores will have been thrown down upon the paper, which should be placed with the other portions of the specimens 9 When dry, the section, profile and spore paper may be mounted together on a piece of stiff paper (botanical mounting pap.r is the best) and the name, locality and date written on the laln^l below with other particulars When dried, either tefore or after mounting, the speci- mens should be poisoned to preserve them from the attacks of insects. The best application for this purpose 18 perhaps carbolic acid laid on with a small hog-hair brush. If there is an objection to the use of such a dangerous poison - and there always is — spirits of camphor is sufficient, but as it is volatile, it is not to be trusted as a permanent presrvative. Leaf Parasites, so common on strawberry, blackberry grass, and other leaves, m..y be dried between leaves of books as indicated above . n the usual way for drying plants-between the folds of bibulous paper; ordinary newspaper will do. It may sometimes be necessary with dead leaves to throw them in water, in order that fchey may be flattened without breaking, and then dry them m tne same manner as green leaves. All specie* found growing on wood bark, etc., should have as much as possible of the hard host substance pared away so that the specimens may lie flat in the herbarium. The Puff-balls are troublesome to preserve, and if mounted on paper are soon spoiled. It is a good plan to provide small cardboard boxes, of not more than a quarter of an inch in depth. Glue the specimen when collected to the bottom, allowing it to dry in that posi- tion before replacing the cover. i¥o2tW«.-These are difficult to preserve. A good plan is to go out provided with small wooden boxes ■corked at top and bottom, such as entomologists use' and some common pins. When a delicate mould is col- lected from a decayed fruit or other substance cut away all unnecessary portions of the host or matrix, and pin down the specimen to the cork in one of the boxes Another method is to wrap the,]elicate moulds in tissue 10 W paper and place the specimens loosely in pill boxes. (This will be found to be a very good plan with many other delicate species of fungi, which at best cannot be preserved permanently, unless portions of them are mounted on microscopic slides.) Microscopic Fungi.—Those who attempt to use the microscope and make collections of the smaller fungi are referred to Cooke's Microscopic Fungi, and other works, for directions in detail. Value oj Drawings. -¥ov fleshy fungi, faithfully colored drawings side by side with the dri«d specimens, will make up for loss or change of color which most species undergo in the process of drying. A series of photographic groups of such fungi, taken with a kodak, would also add much interest to a collection. Books.-Oxie of the best books in studying the fungi, 18 " Fungi : their Nature and Uses," by M. C. Cooke' edited by Rev. M. J. Berkeley. Published by d' Appleton A Co., New York (International Scientrftc Series). The price is about $ I . ,50. Weeds — How to Distinguish and Preserve Them. It may be difficult for the young student to answer the question What is a weed? In general it may be said that a weed is any plant that interferes with the operations of agriculture or gardening. Some plants are weeds because by their rapid growth they thrive and drive out other less aggressive or more useful plants Others, from their unsightly appearance and uselessness may be termed weeds. Some by their beautiful flowers may win our regard and be less offensive though they are none the less weeds, as the dandelion, cotton thistle, coneflower, and several varieties of daisy. Again, a weed which is troublesome in one place need not be' so in another where the conditions for if 3 exuberant growth are not fulfilled. Bluets, Eyebright and other plants, not usualljr considered weeds, sometimes occupy fields to 11 the exclusuu of .almost every other plant. Of course in such situations they are weeds. Most of our worst weeds belong to the Composite Family of plants, which needs a brief explanation here What is popularly taken for the flower in this family is really a cluster of flawers. Take the Ox-eye Daisy which is 80 abundant in this province. Each of the white rays round the margin represents an entire flower and each has a pistil and produces one seed. The yellow central portion consists of many tube-shaped flowers, each of which has its stamens and pistil and produces one seed. So that there are many hundreds of flowers, producing hundreds of seeds, in one flower head ; and the same is true of the thistle and other weeds that belong to this family. Hence their power of re- producing themselves is manifold. As weeds are collected and mounted like other flower- ing plants, the following directions may serve as a guide : To collect plants one should have a note-book and a tin box (that in the form of a cylinder is the most con- venient), eighteen inches long and six inches deep, with a strap fastened to each end, for carrying over the shoulder. To examine and identify plants a pocket magnifying glass is needed (one costing from twenty- five to fifty cents is suflicient), and a Gray's Manual and Lessons, which costs from two to three dollars. A trowel for digging up plants, a sharp pocket-knife, a needle fitted in a wooden handle for separating the parts of plants are necessary. To dry plants a press and abundance of paper to absorb moisture are required. For the former, two smooth boards that will not warp, 20x14 inches, with a flat stone or other weight of twenty-five or thirty pounds will serve all purposes. Old newspapers, uncut, and folded in quarto form will do for dryers. That completes the outfit. Collect only good specimens, and be sure to have i-oot stem, leaves, flowers, and, if possible, the fruit. If the ■^■' V' \ 12 plant is over fifteen or sixteen inches long, bend it before putting in the tin box (.r press so that the length shall be about fifteen inches. Returning from a collecting trip put the plants in press. On one of the boards place two newspapers (eight thicknesses). On this place a plant, or several if the size will permit, arranging as naturally as possible, and showing both under and upper surfaces of leaves and flowers. Cover with a newspaper (four thicknesses, or eight if the plant is thick and juicy). Put a label with each species and proceed thus until all the day's ollection is enclosed. Then place on top the second buard with the weight and put it in a spot where it will receive plenty of sun and air. Change the drying papers every twelve hours for a day or two, every twenty-four hours for a few following days, and every forty-eight hours after, until the plants are completely dried, which piocess will take from ten to twelve days. Plants may be mounted at leisure on botanicnl mount- ing paper, 17x1 U inches. This is called the herbar- ium size, and is used by botanists evei7where. It may be obtained from the Cambridge (Mass.) Supply Com- pany for about ,$4.50 a ream. But perhaps nearly as good an article may be obtained from local dealers at a much less price. These sheets should be enclosed in nianilla covers to protect them. The Committee of the Natural History Society of Kew Brunswick to whom has been entrusted the making out of this scheme, has taken pains to be as full and explicit in the directions above given as possible in the short time allotted for preparation. It hopes that there will be a great interest aroused in all parts of the pro- vince, and that there will be many competitors for the prizes oflfered.* • G. U. Hay, j G. F. Matthew, f W. McIntosh, S. W. Kain, St. John, N. B., Murcli 10th, 1898. J Committer. 'W- * " rcTKBCH/Ff^. ^f RSITV OP ^1