more than 5 sizes of trays, since this comphcates curating and the making 

 or ordering of future stocks. Odd-sized trays make a neat arrangement 

 impossible. Cardboard trays covered with glossy-white enameled paper 

 may be purchased in any large city, or a simple style may be made by cut- 

 ting out and folding pieces of shirtboard as shown in our illustration. The 

 corners are held together by adhesive paper or butcher's tape. The various 

 sets, or lots as they are called, of each species should be placed in the trays 

 and arranged in the drawer from left to right, beginning at the front. Many 

 students separate the species or genera by turning over an empty box which 

 may bear a label indicating the genus or species. 



Small glass vials without necks are used to hold smaller specimens. 

 Cotton is best for plugging the vials, since corks are expensive, are difficult 

 to obtain for various-sized vials and eventually deteriorate. When a lot 

 consists of 100 or more small specimens which will not easily go into vials, 

 it is convenient to use a covered box 3x4 inches and 2 inches deep. The 

 label should be pasted on the lower left corner of the lid. A duplicate label 

 or a slip of card bearing the catalog number should be placed in the box. 

 Some people can afford to have glass-covered boxes. 



A catalog is most essential, and its single purpose is to prevent the loss 

 of valuable locality data. If each specimen bears the same number as the 

 label and catalog entry, it can be returned to its proper tray in case of 

 accidental spilling. A thick ledger about 12x8 inches may be purchased 

 at a second-hand office equipment store at small expense. Headings may 

 be arranged across both pages as shown in Figure I. More space should be 

 given to "Locality" than to any other section. Run your catalog numbers 

 from 1 on up. Do not experiment with mystical letters indicating the 

 locality, collector or date of cataloging, since all this information will be on 

 your label and in your catalog. A card catalog arranged systematically is 

 useless, time-consuming and a duplication of the information already 

 available from your collection. 



Specimens should be numbered in India ink with a fine pen. Shells 

 that are too small to number may be put in vials or covered boxes, but do 

 not fail to add a small slip bearing the catalog number. 



The housing of molluscan animals, octopus and other soft-bodied crea- 

 tures which must be preserved in 70 percent grain alcohol is expensive and 

 generally beyond the scope of the average private collector. It may be 

 mentioned, however, that preserving jars with rubber rings and clip-on 

 glass lids are best. Vials with necks may be plugged tightly with cotton 

 and set upside down in the jars. 



The mollusk collection should be arranged systematically, that is, in 

 biological sequence, with the first drawer containing the primitive abalones, 

 followed by the limpets and on up to the specialized bubble shells (Bulla). 

 The small chiton, cephalopod, and scaphopod classes may be put at the 

 beginning of the gastropods or between them and the bivalves. You may 

 wish to place your unsorted or unidentified material in the last few drawers. 

 Once you have a species represented in your collection, do not stop there. 



(81) 



