or hot water comes in contact with the outside of the shell. Various 

 methods of killing are used. An excellent way is to place the snails, aper- 

 ture down, on a towel in a tin plate, and expose them in an oven at about 

 300° for about 5 to 7 minutes. Or the specimens may be placed, aperture 

 up, on dry sand and heated in an oven until dead. They may also be killed 

 in the freezing compartment of a refrigerator, and pulled when partially 

 melted out; but this method requires 12 hours or more. Too much dry 

 heat fades the pink tints. Washing, if required, should be in cool water. 



Specimens taken during rainy weather contain a great amount of water. 

 They may be kept in a dry place or left hanging in a netted sack for a 

 few days before cleaning. Collectors in the field for several days sometimes 

 make rolls of the specimens, one layer deep, in paper, labeling each bundle 

 outside. They will live a long time thus, and may be transported or shipped 

 home for cleaning. As soon as cleaned, the symbol for locality should be 

 written within the outer lip, or on paper pushed into the aperture. Poorly 

 localized material is almost useless, and localities supplied from memory 

 have often led to serious error. — Pilsbry, Land Mollusca of North America, 

 vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 52, Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia. 



Shells from Moss. In the Ottawa, Canada region, fine specimens of 

 Striatura, Vertigo, Zonitoides, and Planogyra have been obtained by sifting 

 dried moss. Not all samples of moss will contain shells: the samples should 

 be collected from moist areas, such as the edges of swamps, but not from 

 ground flooded in the spring. Moss from shade, under trees or at the base 

 of cliffs, especially limestone clififs, is likely to yield more shells than that 

 from more exposed situations. Gather generotts samples of the moss, enough 

 to fill a 10-pound paper sack; tie the mouth of the sack securely and allow 

 to dry for a few days. When the moss is dry, crumble it gently with the 

 fingers and pass it through sieves of several mesh sizes, from coarse to fine. 

 The shells may be picked out by hand or under a binocular microscope. 



Shells from Dead Leaves. In light woods, especially hardwoods, watch 

 for dead shells on the surface of the leaves on the forest floor. If shells are 

 found, take a large sample of the dead leaves in large paper sacks. Allow 

 the leaf samples to dry, as for moss samples above, and sift for shells. Many 

 small, rare shells have been found by this method. 



Shells from Stream Drift. From time to time, useful lists of shells from 

 stream drift have been published in the Nautilus, e.g. vol. 47: 16-17. Collect 

 the stream drift from places where some obstruction, a log, fence, stream 

 bank, or roots, has caused it to accumulate. This is best done in large 

 sacks, such as 10-pound grocery sacks. Allow the material to dry and sift 

 it out as for moss, above. If records from such material are to be published, 

 it should be clearly indicated that they are from stream drift as the shells 

 recorded may have traveled far from their original habitat. 



Quarries and Ledges. Some of our smaller, hardy snails, such as Gastro- 

 copta, Hawoiia, and Zonitoides, live in large numbers in limestone quarries, 

 under the loose blocks of rock. They are seldom seen crawling about except 



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