4 INTRODUCTION. 
When going out for a ramble after shells very few preparations are 
necessary. For pond work a scoop is essential and better than a net, 
which is an abomination. After experimenting with scoops of many 
shapes and sizes, I have obtained one that suits me better than any 
other. It is of oblong form, five inches in length, with one corner 
rounded off and with perpendicular sides an inch and a half high. The 
bottom and sides are of perforated zinc, the rim being strengthened by 
a band of tin sharply folded. A ferrule at the back admits the end of 
a walking stick. Rounded rims are not good for scraping shells off 
flat surfaces, and often break them in so doing. The square corner is 
often useful for digging a shell out of hard mud or gravel, but the 
rounded corner is the one generally useful. This scoop can be carried 
conveniently in the pocket. Any intelligent tinsmith can make it. I 
would warn collectors against scoops of a soup-plate shape and 
especially against one with a rounded rim. My friend, Mr. Charles 
Oldham, was the first to point out to me the handiness of a pair of 
forceps for picking small shells, such as P2s¢déa, out of the scoop. 
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Small Zine Collecting Scoop. 
A store of tin boxes of various sizes is required, and in selecting 
these it should be remembered that those opening with a hinge or a 
spring are more handy than those the lids of which have to be removed 
every time a shell is dropped in. Small nib-boxes and match-boxes are 
very good for small shells, and should be padded with a little moss to 
prevent the more delicate species being broken by being rattled 
together in the pocket or blown out by the wind when the box is 
