"My friend, J. A. Lintner, of Albany, N. Y., makes very good use, in his ordinary promenades, of a telescopic fish-rod, with a head (Fig. 46) screwed on to one end, in which to fasten an elastic brass coil on which the net is drawn, but which when not in use sits snugly inside his silk hat. [Illustration: FIG. 46.--Clamp of the Lintner net.] "The bag should taper to the bottom, and in any case its length should be fully twice the diameter of the hoop, so that by giving the net a twist, the mouth may be closed and the contents thus secured. The sweeping-net may be protected around the hoop with leather, and in use should be kept in a steady and continued back-and-forth motion, over and touching the plants, until the contents are to be examined; when, by placing the head at the opening and quietly surveying the restless inmates, the desiderata may be secured and the rest turned out. A sudden dash of the air-net will usually lay any flying object at the bottom. A net for aquatic insects may be made on the same principle, but should be stout, with the meshes open enough to allow free passage of water, and the bag not quite as deep as the diameter of the hoop. A forceps net, which consists of two gauze or bobbinet covered frames, having riveted handles, so as to close like a pair of scissors, is employed for small insects; but I find little use for it. A coarse sieve, together with a white towel or sheet, will be found of great service for special occasions, particularly in the spring, when the search for minute insects found under old leaves, or for pupae around the butts of trees, is contemplated. With the sheet spread on the ground, and a few handfuls of leaves and leafy mold sifted over it, many a minute specimen will be separated from the coarser particles and drop to the sheet, where the eye may readily detect it. Conversely, the earth taken from around trees may be sifted so as to leave in the sieve such larger objects as pupae, etc. Another favorite plan, with some collectors, of obtaining specimens, especially night-flying moths, is by 'sugaring.' This consists of applying to the trunks of trees or to strips of cloth attached to the trees some sweet, attractive, and stupefying preparation. Diluted molasses or dissolved brown sugar, mixed with rum or beer, is most frequently employed. I have found sugaring of little use till after the blossoming season, and it is almost impossible to so stupefy or intoxicate an insect that it will remain upon the sugared tree till the next morning. I generally sugar at eve, and visit the tree several times between sundown and midnight, armed with wide-mouthed killing-bottles and accompanied by a second person, who carries a dark-lantern. Isolated trees, on the edges of woods, give the best results. Everybody knows how some poor moths will persist in flitting around a light until they singe their wings; and, as many insects are strongly attracted to bright artificial light, it may be employed with