_Nets._--In the capture of insects of all orders, and especially of butterflies and moths, one of the most important instruments is the net. German naturalists make use of what are known as shears (_Scheren_), which are made like gigantic scissors, having at the end two large oval rings upon which wire gauze or fine netting is stretched. With this implement, which looks like an old-fashioned candle-snuffer of colossal size, they succeed in collecting specimens without doing much injury. Shears are, however, not much in vogue among the naturalists of other countries. The favorite instrument for the ordinary collector is the net. Nets may be made in various ways and of various materials. There are a multitude of devices which have been invented for enabling the net to be folded up so as to occupy but little space when not in use. The simplest form of the net, which can be made almost anywhere, is constructed as follows: A rod--preferably of bamboo, or some other light, stiff material--is used as the handle, not more than five feet in length. Attached to this at its upper end, a loop or ring made of metal, or some moderately stiff yet flexible material, should be tied securely. Upon this there should be sewed a bag of fine netting, preferably tarletan. The bag should be quite long, not less than eighteen inches deep; the ring should be not less than a foot in diameter. Such a net can be made at a cost of but a few cents, and will be, in most cases, as efficient as any of the more expensive nets which are more carefully constructed. A good, cheap ring for a net may be made by using the brass ferrule of a fishing-rod. The ferrule should be at least three quarters of an inch in diameter. Into this insert the ends of a metal ring made by bending brass, aluminium, or iron wire into the proper form. When the ends have been inserted into the ferrule, melted solder or lead may be poured into it, and the ends of the wire forming the ring will be thus firmly secured in the ferrule. The ferrule can then be inserted into its mate placed at the end of a bamboo rod. I have commonly obtained for this purpose the last joint or butt of a fishing-rod as the handle of a net. Such a handle can often be purchased for a small sum from a dealer in fishing-rods. It can be made very cheaply. Any kind of a stick, if not too heavy, will do. It is sometimes convenient to have it in your power to lengthen the handle of your net so as to reach objects that are at some elevation above the head, and for this purpose I have had nets made with handles capable of being lengthened by jointed extensions. In collecting in tropical countries, among tall shrubbery and undergrowth, nets thus made, capable of having their handles greatly lengthened, have often proved serviceable. One of the most successful collectors I have ever had in my employment made his net by simply bending a piece of bamboo into the form of the frame of an