78 



THE SEA SHORE 



into the open end until the melted glass is nicely rounded like the 

 bottom of a test-tube (fig. 41, 4). "When the tube is cold, the 

 specimen that it is to contain, and which has already been stored 

 for a time in dilute spirit, is dropped into it. The tube is now 

 heated about an inch above the top of the specimen, drawn out as 

 shown in fig. 41, 5, and again allowed to cool. When cold, the fresh 

 spirit is poured into the open end of the tube, but the middle part 

 is so narrow that the spirit will not run down freely. If, however, 

 suction be applied to the open end, air from the bottom will bubble 

 through the spirit, and then, on the cessation of the suction, the 

 spirit will pass down to take the place of the air that was with- 

 drawn. This may be repeated if necessary to entirely cover the 

 specimen with the fluid. Any excess of spirit is 

 then thrown from the upper part of the tube, 

 and the latter cut off. Nothing is now left but 

 to close the tube hermetically. This is done by 

 heating the lower part of the narrow neck, and 

 then drawing it out in the flame, taking great 

 care that the tube is withdrawn from the flame 

 the moment it is closed. The tube must also be 

 kept in an upright position until it has cooled. 

 The appearance of the finished tube is shown 

 in fig. 41, 6. 



All preserved specimens should have a label 

 attached on which is written the name of the 

 specimen, the class and order to which it belongs, 

 the locality in which it was found, together with 

 any brief remarks that the owner desires to re- 

 member concerning its habits &c. 



The bottles or tubes that are too small to have a label attached 

 to them in the ordinary way may be mounted on a card, as repre- 

 sented in fig. 42, and the desired particulars then written on the 

 card. 



When soft or delicate specimens are preserved in a bottle of 

 fluid they frequently require some kind of support to keep them in 

 proper form and to display them better for observation. Perhaps 

 the best way to support them is to fasten them to a very thin plate 

 of mica of suitable size by means of a needle and very fine thread. 

 The mica is so transparent that it is invisible in the fluid, and the 

 few stitches are also hardly perceptible, thus making it appear as if 

 the specimen floats freely in the fluid. 



FIG. 42. SMALL 

 SPECIMEN TUBE 

 MOUNTED ON A 

 CAKD 



