_A Means of preserving Insects in dry hot Countries._--In the "_Horae Societatis Entomologicae Rossicae_," XXIV, pp. 233, 234 (1889), M. A. Wilkins, writing from Tachkent in Turkestan, alludes to the inefficiency of ordinary preservatives in Central Asia, on account of their rapid volatilization through the hot dry air, so that if a collection be neglected for only two or three months _Anthreni_ are sure to be found in the boxes. He has hit upon a plan which he finds effective, and at the same time very simple. He employs India-rubber bands about 11/2 inches in width and less than the length of the boxes to which they are to be applied. These bands are stretched over the opening line of the boxes, and effectually prevent the entrance of the most minute destroyers. Possibly a similar plan might be adopted in other countries with a like climate. At any rate, the method has the merit of extreme simplicity. (The _Ent. Mo. Mag._, Apr., 1891, p. 107.) MOLD. Collections kept in damp places or in a moist climate are very liable to mold, and under such conditions it is difficult to avoid this evil. Carbolic acid is recommended, but Mr. Ashmead, who has kept a large collection in the moist climate of Florida, has found the use of naphthaline much more satisfactory. Mr. Herbert H. Smith who has had more extensive experience in the tropics prefers the carbolic acid. Moldy specimens may be cleansed by washing with carbolic acid applied with a fine camel's hair brush. VERDIGRISING AND GREASING. The action of the acid juices in the bodies of certain specimens--as many of the Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera--will cause the formation of verdigris about the pin, which in time accumulates and disfigures and distorts the specimen, and ultimately corrodes the pin, so that the slightest touch causes it to bend or break. There is no preventive yet known for this trouble other than the use of pins which have no brass to be corroded. Japanned pins are made for this purpose, and are, on the whole, satisfactory, but they bend easily and some caution is required in handling them. In place of these pins, which are somewhat more expensive than the steel pins, iron pins may be used. These are very soft and bend too easily for satisfactory use. The steel pins may be rendered available for use by an immersion in a silver bath, which is comparatively inexpensive.