SHORT NOTES ON COLLECTING 



Screening Methods. Recently, while on a trip to the Florida Keys, I 

 decided to try screening a likely-looking place; upon trying a rake I found 

 that method useless. Then I tried the back of the rake, but found that the 

 sand was so thin, about one-half inch, on a fairly smooth rock floor that 

 not even a hoe would work with any degree of satisfaction. Then I tried 

 fanning the sand onto the screen with a little paddle made of a scrap of 

 drift wood. It worked so well that I doubt that I shall ever use another 

 method on such a bottom. The sand from the smooth rock is swept in 

 with ease by a long lazy stroke of the paddle, and the sand from the little 

 pits and crevices also sweeps into the screen. Use a screen of one-eighth 

 inch mesh. Later I tried this in a very soft muddy bottom where raking 

 only brought in soft gobs that were most difficult to wash through the 

 screen; the results were more satisfactory than any tried before on such a 

 bottom. So I tried it again on a grassy bottom, and it worked here also. 

 Try it! — Frank Lyman, Shell Notes, Vol. 1 (8) 



A Tip for Tidepool Collecting. The most obvious method of collecting 

 elusive organisms from tidepools is to remove all the water, but not many 

 collectors carry along a pump or lengths of hose for siphoning. Along the 

 Pacific Coast, however, nature has provided a natural substitute for hose, 

 the hollow stipes of kelp (Nereocystis and Macrocystis). Short lengths of 

 these stipes, which can usually be found cast ashore, are filled with water 

 and one end is lowered below the level of the pool. This quickly siphons 

 out the water, especially if several pieces are used. These siphons can 

 empty quite a large pool if one starts them at the beginning of a field trip 

 and makes the pool a last stop. Of course some of the animals will hide 

 far back in crevices but a pair of "mechanical fingers" obtainable at any 

 auto supply store will soon ferret them out. — Earl T. Walker, Turtox 

 News, Wol 31 (6), June, 1953 



Collecting Tip. A common wash tub is a good thing to take along 

 when collecting in water not exceeding five feet in depth. Simply tie it to 

 your waist with a very stout cord and in it place your shell jars, smokes, 

 lunch, tools, etc. Then tow it about wherever you go with your waterglass. 

 A bottle of household bluing should be along if you are in the territory of 

 Portuguese Man-O-War, for in case of a sting it is a most effective medi- 

 cation. — Frank Lyman, Shell Notes, Vol. 1 (14) 



Collecting Planktonic Shells. Anyone can collect planktonic shells. If 

 you tow a cone-shaped net made of any smooth, fine-meshed cloth behind 

 a boat you will be amazed at what you catch. Rig your net on a stiff wire 

 loop a foot in diameter, tie three bridle lines to this and you have it. Tow 

 at about 2 or 3 knots for 10 or 15 minutes, then haul it in and carefully 

 turn the net wrong side out and wash the contents into a jar. If you do 

 your hauling at night you will get much more. If you haul out in the 

 open ocean you may get Pteropods, interesting gastropods that are not 

 larvae at all but interesting shells that spend their entire life in the 



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