HINTS POE. COLLECTING AND 

 PUESERVING SHELLS OF MOLLUSCS. 



The following notes supply a few general rules as to finding and 

 preserving shells : — 



Of Shell-bearing Molluscs there are three classes — ^Marine, Fresh- 

 water, and Land. The first two include Univalves and Bivalves, the 

 last only Univalves. 



1. Marine shells may be obtained : — (1) By searching on and under 

 rocks at low water, or on coral reefs among sea -weed attached to 

 them, or floating on the sea, or on a sandy beach. Bivalves may be 

 found by digging in the sand or mud, on a beach or at the mouth 

 of a river : their presence is generally indicated by a circular 

 breathing-hole in the sand. (2) By dredging, by wdiich means 

 only deep-sea shells can be obtained ; but after a storm these may 

 often be found upon the shore, before they have lost their lustre. 



Limpets, etc., should be detached with a thin blade passed quickly 

 under the shell, taking care not to break the edges. Small shells on 

 and in sea-weed, and limpets, etc., adhering to stones will drop off and 

 sink to the bottom in a vessel of cold fresh -water. 



2. Fresh-water shells may be obtained in any river, lake, pond, 

 marsh, or reservoir : Univalves, chiefly on the banks, on reeds and 

 plants growing near the edges, and on the under surface of leaves, and 

 stems of aquatic plants; Bivalves, generally at the bottom, among 

 stones or buried in the sand, or among the roots of aquatic plants. 



3. Land shells. — These resemble, more or less, in their habits the 

 garden snail, though varying greatly in character, size, and colour. 

 They mostly abound in a chalk or limestone district, and in moist 

 and wooded situations. Some species inhabit low and damp spots, 



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