BAKER: FIELDBOOK OF ILLINOIS LAND SNAILS 13 



bankment, all visited. Each should be given a number. Ac- 

 curate records kept faithfully will reward the conchologist with 

 a full account of his season's work. 



Apparatus for the Collector 



Apparatus for collecting land snails is very simple. A 

 number of wide-mouthed bottles, two or three ounces in capacity, 

 several homeopathic vials and a tin box that fits the pocket 

 are all the containers necessary. 



One or two small vials should be partly filled with alcohol 

 for those specimens that are desired only for the shells. Alcohol 

 will kill the snails and keep them from adhering to the side of 

 the vial. It will also preserve the animals and prevent the ill- 

 smelling odors that arise from decaying matter. 



A pair of small forceps or tweezers is indispensable for 

 picking up small specimens like the pupoids and also for sorting 

 the collection at home. The points of the tweezers should meet 

 exactly, and the spring should not be too rigid, or, in closing the 

 points, the collector may apply too much pressure, breaking 

 delicate shells like those of the zonitoids. It is a good plan to tie 

 a string to the tweezers to prevent loss when they are laid aside 

 in the collecting of larger snails. The string may be tied around 

 the wrist or attached through a buttonhole to the jacket or 

 shirt of the collector. 



The large snails may be placed in the tin box or wide- 

 mouthed bottles and killed after the collecting trip is over. 



A stout knife is necessary for the purpose of tearing off 

 small pieces of bark, turning over debris and digging snails out 

 of their burrows in the ground. A trowel is often helpful for 

 digging up the earth in favorable habitats. 



A very convenient implement for the collector is the Ferriss 

 hoe, made by filing an ordinary hoe blade into heart-shaped 

 form. This may be used for protection against venomous 

 snakes — rattlers, moccasins and copperheads — common in 

 some parts of southern Illinois, and also for pulling over rock 

 piles and digging up forest debris. To collectors who may be 

 affected by poison ivy, this implement will be found of great 

 value for pulling aside the vines when they cover the ground or 

 old stumps and logs. 



The snail collector should be careful to avoid ruthless 

 destruction of the habitats where he is studying. He will notice 



