The Cabinet. 25 
“He furnishes his closet first, and fills 
The crowded shelves with rarities of shells; 
Adds orient pearls, which from the wave he drew, 
And all the sparkling stones of various hue.” 
When live shells, as they are called—that is, 
having the living fish in them—are obtained, the 
best plan is to place them in spirits of wine; this 
at once deprives the inhabitant of fe, without 
injuring the shell, which should then be placed in 
hot water for a time; the body of the mollusk is 
thus rendered firm, and may be removed by means 
of some pointed instrument.: Care should be taken 
to leave no portion of animal matter within, or 
after a while it will become putrid, and give out 
a stain, which will show through and injure the 
delicate markings of the shell. ‘The surest, most 
expeditious, and least troublesome mode of cleans- 
ing a shell, is to place it in an ant heap for a day 
or two; the busy little insects will penetrate into 
its inmost cavities, and remove hence all offending 
matter. ‘There will be no difficulty in this respect 
with the multivalve and bivalve kinds, which are 
only kept closed by means of a set of muscics, 
which can be tightened or relaxed at the pleasure 
of the animal within, and become powerless to 
keep the shell closed as soon as that is dead. 
