66 American Se ash ells 



convenient to use a covered box 3'' X 4'' and 2" 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 acci- 

 dental spilling. A thick ledger about 1 2" X 8" may be purchased at a second- 

 hand office equipment store at small expense. Headings may be arranged 

 across both pages as shown in our figure. More space should be given "Local- 

 ity" than any other section. Run your catalog numbers from i 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 seventy 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 the 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 mav be put at the begin- 

 ning 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. Add 

 other lots from other collecting regions. You will then learn to appreciate 

 individual, ecological and geographical variations. 



Exchanging. An amazing amount of traffic of duplicate material exists 

 throughout the country and in many parts of the world today. Exchanging 

 is an ideal way of sharing your local rich hauls and of obtaining species be- 

 yond your collecting sphere. A list of the many hundreds interested in 

 exchanging is published in several directories of conchologists and naturalists. 

 Sound out your prospective exchanger to learn what species or type of mate- 

 rial he desires, since some advanced collectors are extremely "choosy." Al- 

 ways give accurate locality data and send as perfect specimens as you can. 

 Some people make up elaborate exchange lists which they send around to 



