TIIK NAUTILUS. 141 



The strainer is provided with a short handle. If a long handle 

 happens to be required, the strainer can be temporarily fastened on 

 a stick by winding around with a cord. Scrape off a slice of the 

 bottom mud with the strainer, bring the rim above the water-surface, 

 and swirl around. Mud and sand wash out, and a mixture of trash 

 and shells remains. The strainer is now most easily emptied by 

 passing it through water contained in a wash-basin. A dish-pan, if 

 it is practicable to carry such a bulky utensil, is still better, because it 

 will float beside the collector when working away from shore. If 

 one is without any basin, the contents of the strainer are knocked or 

 shaken upon a cloth. 



The total product is usually carried home for treatment and put in 

 a coarse sieve, which fits into a dish-pan or light steel kettle full of 

 water. My sieve is made by nailing wire netting of one-fourth-inch 

 mesh on a wooden frame. The mixture is worked with the fingers 

 until the bivalves have passed out of the sieve into the dish. The 

 sieve is now removed with its contents of sticks and leaves. These 

 are looked over before being thrown away, as they often contain Physa, 

 also may include very large Spharia, such as S. simile, too big to pass 

 through the sieve. Now" one stirs up the water with the fingers and 

 pours it off cautiously, puts in more water, and repeats the process as 

 many times as required. The trash is thus washed away and a residue 

 is obtained, consisting mainly of shells. If stones are present, a proper 

 motion of the dish will now bring them to the opposite side from the 

 shells, so that they can be removed. Then any conspicuous pieces 

 of trash yet remaining are removed by hand-picking. Now, if any 

 fine sand is present, the shells are brought into a strainer of finer 

 mesh than the collecting strainer and washed free from it. The 

 shells are now put in alcohol. Sometimes the use of the coarse sieve 

 can be omitted, because little or no trash coarse enough to be re- 

 tained by it is present. After one to three days the shells are taken 

 from the alcohol and spread out to dry. If they are left too long in 

 the alcohol there is danger of the valves opening. 



The final purification can be deferred until winter, if wished. The 

 shells are poured upon a sheet of paper in portions of about a half 

 teaspoonful at a time, and a camel's-hair brush is used to push shells 

 one way and dirt another. Before doing this it is often useful to re- 

 move the finest dirt, and then divide the shells into two or more 

 sizes by a series of strainers or sieves of different mesh. 



