end of the chiton is the head, and apply the knife at the other end. They 

 are much easier to remove from the rock in this manner. Chitons are 

 unusual mollusks and certain procedures which might achieve results with 

 other mollusks do not seem to apply to them. For instance, should the 

 collector desire to study the living mollusk in action, it is advisable and 

 necessary that the vessel in which it is confined be kept absolutely quiet. 

 To those who have patiently (more or less) waited for a frightened chiton 

 to unroll so that it might be placed upon the stretching board, and have 

 been exceedingly careful that the specimen be undisturbed, it will be good 

 news to learn that if the vessel containing the specimens be gently tipped 

 backward and forward so the specimens are caused to roll about, in a 

 surprisingly short time, every uninjured chiton will unroll and attach itself 

 to the bottom of the vessel and it can be easily removed and placed upon 

 the stretcher. — B. R. Bales, 1941 Ann. Rept., American Malacological Union 



". . . In connection with the discussion regarding the preparation of 

 chitons, I take the liberty of outlining my own technique: the animals are 

 placed in a pan of fresh sea water to relax. When well flattened out they 

 are picked up quickly and held in the hand and worked a bit while being 

 held under a tap from which is flowing water as hot as the hand can bear. 

 They die very quickly and are then flattened down to a narrow strip or 

 shingle by strips of muslin, after which they are placed in a dish of formal- 

 dehyde to harden. The following day they are removed from the strips and 

 cleaned of their internal organs. They are then tied back in place and 

 put in a solution of formaldehyde to which about 10 percent of glycerine 

 has been added. Remove from the solution and let them remain on the 

 strips until dry. The specimens retain sufficient of the glycerine to cause 

 them to remain slightly flexible and they do not develop the shriveled 

 appearance of ordinary specimens." — Prof. Trevor Kincaid, Min. Conch. 

 Club of S. Calif. 



Now about chitons; the tying down, careful cooking, cleaning and 

 retying which are necessary to make good specimens are so much more 

 bother than cleaning other shells that I am much inclined to say, "If you 

 won't do this extra work, please let the poor things alone!" The tightly 

 curled lumps which are sometimes seen in collections tell very little of 

 chiton relationships or their real beauty. Gulls sometimes pry Mopalias, 

 especially M. muscosa, off the rocks and eat much of the foot. No use to 

 try to use these shells except as disarticulated valves, for no amount of 

 cooking or patient flattening will relax them; they are permanently cradles. 

 Lepidochitona lineata is common almost everywhere north of San Luis 

 Obispo and is not fussy about its position; it may be on the top, side or 

 bottom of a rock, and from mid-tide on down. The dark-colored form with 

 orange-barred girdle is from Washington only. Cryptochiton stelleri is best 

 taken when and where you can, then laid out in the sun on its back to 

 die before an attempt is made to clean it. Drying is a slow, smelly process 

 at best. The best preparator I know cleans out the inside of the shell, 



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