ET-177 tint*, August 1941 
 
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 United States Department of Agriculture 
 Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine 
 
 APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REINFORCING' MAPS FOR FIELD USE 
 
 By L. B. Parker and R. W. Evans, 
 Division of Fruit Insect Investigations 
 
 It is believed that the information that follows will be of 
 interest to those who require permanent maps that will survive the 
 rigors and abuse of continual field use. The apparatus and pro- 
 cedure herein described have been developed from ideas contributed 
 by various members of the parasite section of the Japanese Beetle 
 Laboratory and several years of experience in their application. 
 If due care is used in the work, maps thus prepared are firm, free 
 from wrinkles, and well protected against wear. 
 
 Apparatus 
 
 The apparatus itself is comparatively simple. A pasting 
 flat (fig. 1) is made by screwing a piece of 1/8-inch presdwood, 
 measuring 20-3/8 by 16-5/8 inches, to three cleats of white pine,' 
 16-5/8 inches long and 1-1/8 inches thick (fig. 1). The screw 
 heads should be flush with the surface of the flat. 
 
 A rectangular map frame (fig. 2), measuring 20-1/2 by 16-3/4 
 inches inside measurement, is made of pine stock 1-1/4 inches 
 square. The frame will then just fit over the pasting flat (fig. 
 3). On a line 3/8 inch from the inside edge of the map frame, 
 finish nails are driven through the wood to protrude about 1 inch 
 en the other side. The nails should be 5/8 inch apart. To prevent 
 the frame from splitting, it is well to put a series of flat-headed 
 screws into it from the inside surface. These may also be tightened 
 from time to time if the nails work loose from use (fig. 2). 
 
 Procedure 
 
 To prepare the reinforcing cloth, cut pieces of muslin 2 
 inches wider and 2 inches longer than the inside measurements of 
 the map frame. Boil these pieces to take out the sizing and shrink 
 the cloth, then dry them. Stretch the cloth over the map frame by 
 impaling the edges on the nails, taking care to get it as tight as 
 possible and entirely free from any tendency to wrinkle. Next, 
 invert the cloth-covered map frame and fit it over the pasting 
 
- 2 - 
 
 flat, with the nails pointing down and the cloth resting on the 
 surface of the pasting flat. After being brushed clean, the cloth 
 is ready for the application of the paste. 
 
 The paste is applied with a 1-f- inch paint brush and is 
 spread evenly until the muslin is thoroughly wetted through and 
 the paste worked into the cloth. The map is now laid in the map 
 frame, back to the cloth, and smoothed flat with the hands. Allow 
 it to remain for 2 to 3 minutes until the paper has taken up 
 moisture from the paste-saturated cloth, when wrinkles in the 
 paper will be noticed. Now part the map from the cloth to free 
 the wrinkles. Any wrinkles remaining after the map has again been 
 placed on the cloth can be effectively removed by smoothing its 
 surface with a wad of soft cloth, using moderate pressure against 
 the supporting pasting flat. This also serves to assure uniform 
 adherence of the map to the cloth. 
 
 The map frame is now lifted from the pasting flat and placed 
 in an open oven with slow heat until the cloth and paper are 
 thoroughly dry. Care should be taken, however, to remove the 
 frame from the oven imm ediatel y after they are thoroughly dry. 
 The cloth-backed map is removed from the frame by running a sharp 
 knife around its inside edge. The map edges may now be trimmed 
 as desired. 
 
 Folding Maps 
 
 If folding maps are desired, they can be made in the same 
 general manner. The paper map is first cut into the desired 
 sections, and these are mounted as described above, but separated 
 from one another by 1/8 inch to permit folding of the cloth. To 
 further protect maps for field use, an effective cover may be made 
 by pasting a sheet of two-ply or three-ply pressboard to the back 
 of each of the sections forming the two outside folds (fig. 4). 
 
 Paste 
 
 The best paste for this use is map paste, generally obtainable 
 from map dealers. After mixing 3 parts of water and 1 part of 
 paste, stir the mixture thoroughly and strain it through a 16-mesh 
 screen. 
 
 Note. — The size of the frame and the pasting flat to be used 
 would vary from the dimensions given in the foregoing description 
 according to the size of the map to be mounted. The frame and 
 flat should be slightly larger than the map. 
 
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 PASTING FLAT 
 
 Figure 1. — Details of the construction of the pasting flat. 
 
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 Mails /» apart* %/ram msidt- ectye. 
 
 Finrih Nails 
 
 Section of Inside Surface of Map /rome 
 
 Figure 2. — Details of the construction of the map frame. 
 
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 Figure 3. — Pasting flat fitted inside the map frame. 
 Note: After the cloth has been stretched over the 
 frame the position of the latter is reversed before 
 the paste is applied. 
 

 Figure A., — Face of reinforced folding map showing method of 
 mounting the sections. Notice the protruding edge of the 
 pressboard cover along the left margin to protect the 
 edges of the folded map. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 
 
 illinium 
 
 3 1262 09240 9324