16 THE BRITISH WOODLICE. 
“palmer,” and ‘“‘cudworm.” In the eastern counties the same 
writer notes that they are known as ‘“old-sows”’ or “ St. 
Anthony’s hogs” while the Welsh call them “little grey-hogs,” 
“the little old women of the wood” or ‘“ grammar-sows,” 
grammar signifying a shrivelled up old dame. Oniscus asellus 
was sometimes called ‘‘socchetre,’ “church louse,” and 
‘chinch:” 
Methods of Collection and Preservation.— Woodlice 
should be collected straightway into tubes or bottles half filled 
with 30 per cent. methylated spirit.’ Woodlice dropped into 
this weak spirit become gradually narcotised and die, and they 
remain limp enough for purposes of examination or to allow, of 
their legs and antenne being set out during the process of 
mounting. Specimens to be kept permanently should be placed 
in 70 per cent. alcohol. For storage purposes the specimens of 
each species from a given locality should be put together into a 
small flat bottomed tube such as is used for pillules by 
apothecaries or specially made for natural history purposes. A 
paper label on which the name, locality, date of capture and any 
other necessary particulars have been written with dark lead 
pencil, is not affected by the spirit. The tubes may be corked, 
though if not frequently examined all the spirit may evaporate, 
and cause the specimens to be spoilt. A safer method is to plug 
the tubes with cotton wool and keep all those containing a given 
species or specimens from a particular locality beneath the 
surface of spirit in a large wide-mouthed bottle, into which first 
of all some cotton wool has been put to prevent the tubes from 
coming into sudden contact with the glass at the bottom. For 
show purposes in museums, specimens taken direct from 30 
per cent. spirit should be mounted on slips of opal glass by 
means of gum-tragacanth which has been powdered and shaken 
up in spirit before having water added to it. The slips can be 
exhibited in glass tubes, six inches high by one across, or in 
narrow stoppered museum jars. A variation of the method is to 
mount the animals on clear glass and to place behind them 
another strip of any colour that may be preferred. 
_ 3 It should be pointed out that the methylated spirit now sold in the shops contains 
mineral naptha and goes milky on the addition of water. | Permission can be obtained from 
Somerset House to buy what is still called ‘‘ ordinary methylated spirit,” but at present five 
gallons has to be purchased at one time. 
