Equipment 



65 



If the handles are made of light wood, such as willow or cypress, the dumping is 

 easy. Bring the two handles together and grasp them with one hand, and dash them 

 downward against the other hand held stiffly over the dish of water. If aimed aright 

 the catch will all be discharged by the jolt into the dish. 



3. If material is to be 

 kept alive, there is no better 

 retainer for it than the pil- 

 low cage shown in figure 5. It 

 may be made of any desired 

 mesh or dimensions. It may 

 be immersed in stream or 

 pond or tank. Half immersed 

 it makes a good rearing cage 

 for aquatic insects. A square 

 yard of wire cloth makes 

 four cages of suitable size for 

 this. 



4. Dip nets such as are 

 sold by dealer's in collector's 

 supplies, are useful for light 

 work about weed beds in 

 ponds. 



Fig. 4. Hand screen for stream col- 

 lecting. S is a sheet of wire screen 1x2 

 feet, woven edge below. The oppo- 

 site edge, if not also woven, should 

 be folded neatly, leaving no projecting 

 wire-ends to prick fingers. The folded 

 ends of the cloth are inserted in slots 

 sawed in the handles and nailed fast 

 there. 



Fig. 5. Wire 

 Cage made from 

 a square of wire 

 cloth by first 

 folding edges to- 

 gether (as at a) 

 to form a cylin- 

 der, and then 

 cross folding the 

 ends. It opens 

 easily and closes 

 securely with the 

 fingers. Top edges 

 should be woven 

 or else there will 

 be pricked fin- 

 gers. 



5. A sieve net of metal, well braced and strong, is most desirable for collecting bot- 

 tom forms. It gathers the mud and sifts it at one operation. It is supplied with a long 

 handle and is used as a rake from the shore. Where there is much loose trash on the bottom 

 a common garden rake will answer some of the same purposes. 



6. A very satisfactory dredge for use in any depth of water may be made out of 

 the sieve net if a short wooden handle be substituted for the long one, a cord attached 

 to its tip and the net be lowered and dragged from a slow moving boat. The bottom 

 stuff when brought to the surface is sifted before removal. 



7. Plancton nets of fine silk bolting cloth are needed 

 for obtaining the microscopic life of the open water. These 

 are obtainable from dealers in biological supplies. No. 12 

 silk is of the mesh best suited to gathering a good catch 

 quickly and in considerable variety. 



For drawing waterweeds ashore many kinds of weed 

 hooks have been devised; but we have found nothing 

 better than the weighted ring of barbed wire. A few other 

 standard tools, such as hay knife and marl sampler for the 

 bog study, are mentioned under the particular studies for 

 which they are useful aids. 



Fig. 6. Sieve net with detachable handle. As shown, it is supplied with a short handle and tow-line, ready to 

 be used as a dredge. Sifting is done before lifting from water. Weight the bottom of the net for dredging. 



