They are of white pine, shellacked and varnished, the bottom and top double and crossgrained, to prevent warping, and projecting slightly at all sides except the hinged back. They are 13 by 81/4 inches outside measurement. The inside measurement is 113/4 by 7. The sides, back, and front are five-sixteenths of an inch thick, with a machine joint, which is neat and very secure. The boxes are 2 5/8 inches in outside depth, unequally divided, the lower portion 11/2 inches outside depth, lined inside with a thin whitewood strip, projecting three-fourths of an inch above the rim of the outside box. Over this projecting lining the lid closes as tightly as practicable and is kept from springing by hooks and eyes. The bottom is cork-lined and covered with a fine, white, glazed paper. Similar folding boxes with both sides of equal depth and both lined with cork, when properly covered, may be made to look like books and be set on end in an ordinary bookcase, but the single lining is preferable, as there is less danger of the breakage of specimens and the boxes may either be laid flat one on the other on shelves, or, what is more convenient, placed side by side resting on the front edge, so that the label is attached to one of the narrow ends. The rows of insects are then pinned crosswise, not lengthwise, of the box, with the abdomens turned toward the front which rests on the shelf. All the boxes are furnished with neat brass label-holders, in which a card containing a list of the contents can readily be placed and removed at pleasure. The chief demerit of this box which I have endeavored to overcome by the above details is the tendency to warp and crack in the trying steam heat of our Government buildings. _The Cabinet._--For larger insects, such as Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, etc., a larger box is desirable, and for these orders I have adopted for use in the National Museum a cabinet which resulted from a careful study in person of the different forms and patterns used for entomological collections both in this country and Europe, whether by private individuals or public institutions. The drawer and cabinet are essentially after the pattern of those used in the British (South Kensington) Museum, but adapted in size to our own requirements. In the use of the National Museum these cabinets have proved eminently well adapted to their object. [Illustration: FIG. 118.--Construction of insect cabinet drawer of the National Museum. A, cross-section _f_ front; B, same _f_ side; C, view of front end of side, 2/3 natural size (original).]