26 Beautiful Shells. 
Great care must be taken to preserve unbroken 
the smaller parts of these shells, such as the 
hinges or teeth, as on the structure of these the 
scientific arrangement into genera chiefly depends; 
the beard, also, as it is called, and silky threads, 
must not be removed, as these have much to do in 
determining the particular species. 
River and land shells are generally very thin 
and brittle, and must be carefully handled ; their 
colours are not usually so brilliant as those of the 
marine species, but they form links in the tes- 
taceous chain, which are necessary to a proper 
study and elucidation of conchology. 
The most glowing and gorgeous of all shells 
are those brought from the Tropical seas, and, 
excepting in a few rare instances, specimens of 
most of these can be obtained at little cost from 
any dealer, or from sailors returning from a voyage. 
If it is necessary to send either those, or British 
shells, any distance, or to pack them away in a 
small compass, the best plan is to wrap them 
separately in soft paper, place them in a box, and 
then pour in sawdust, bran, or fine sand, very dry, 
until all the open spaces are completely filled up. 
