36 HANDBOOK OF SHELLS. 



animals in a toy Noah's ark, to the great detriment of their value 

 and beauty ; for, as the inevitable result of shaking against each 

 other, the natural polish is taken off some, the delicate points 

 and ornaments are broken off others, the whole collection be- 

 coming in time unsightly and disappointing, and all for want of 

 a little care at the outset. 



In this, as in every other undertaking, " how to set about it " 

 is the chief difficulty with beginners ; and here, perhaps, a few 

 hints gathered from experience may not be without value. One 

 thing a young collector should always bear in mind, however, 

 is, that no instructions can be of any avail to him unless, for his 

 part, he is prepared to bring patience, neatness, and attention to 

 detail, to bear upon his work. 



Since it is important to know the best way of storing specimens 

 already acquired, we will, in the first place, devote a few words 

 to this point, and then proceed to describe the best means of 

 collecting specimens, and of naming, mounting, and arranging 

 the same. 



HOW TO MAKE A CABINET. 



It is a common mistake, both with old and young, to imagine 

 that a handsome cabinet is, in the first instance, a necessity ; but 

 no greater blunder can be made : the cabinet should be con- 

 sidered merely an accessory, the collection itself being just as 

 valuable, and generally more useful, when kept in a series of plain 

 wooden or cardboard boxes. We intend, therefore, to describe 

 the simplest possible means of keeping a collection of shells, 

 leaving elaborate and costly methods to those who value the 

 case more than its contents. 



The first thing required is some method of keeping the dif- 

 ferent species of shells apart, so that they may not get mixed, or 

 be difficult to find when wanted. The simplest plan of doing 

 this is to collect all the empty chip match-boxes you can find, 

 throw away the cases in which they slide, and keep the trays, 

 trying to get as many of a size as possible. (The ordinary 

 Bryant & May's, or Bell & Black's, are the most useful, and 

 with them the trays of the small Swedish match-boxes, two of 

 which, placed side by side, occupy nearly exactly the same space 

 as one and a half of the larger size, and so fit in with them 

 nicely. ) In these trays your shells should be placed, one kind 

 in each tray ; but although very convenient for most specimens, 

 they will of course be too small for very many, and so the larger 



