310 NATURAL HISTORY OF OUR SHORES 



spirit while they are in full vigour, or they will harden in 

 all manner of contortion. The proper plan is to allow 

 them to remain in the jar of water in which they have 

 been brought in until they are inactive ; then to lay them 

 straight, side by side, in a flat dish of sufficient length, and 

 add spirit in gradually increasing strength, cleansing the 

 fringe of bristles of such as have them (the Polychetes), 

 with a camel-hair brush, leaving them in the dish in strong 

 spirit until hard, when they may be put into tubes of suit- 

 able length, the spirit changed a few times, and finally 

 sealed up. The short forms, like Nykia (D in Fig. 36), 

 being fastened to a mica slip for better display. 



The tubiculous worms, such as the Sabellas (Fig. 35), 

 must be brought home in their tubes, then the tube carefully 

 split up one side and the worm lifted out and treated as 

 above. The beautiful tufts of plumes will expand without 

 difficulty. Attempts to pull them out of their tubes always 

 result in breaking them. 



The spirit must be strengthened very gradually, or the 

 fine fringe of the plumes will crinkle up. 



The Crustacea. These present little or no difficulty in 

 preparing. 



The whole of the Amphipoda and Isopoda, as well as the 

 small species of Macrura and the Stomapoda, such as Mysis, 

 Hippolyte, etc., are very much better preserved in spirit, 

 in tubes of suitable size, than set out dry. But the larger 

 Macrura, from the size of the prawn upwards, are usually 

 put up dry on mounts. Those of the latter size and up- 

 wards must be cleaned out. This is easily done by allowing 

 them to macerate for a while in fresh water ; this softens the 

 flesh and removes the salt. 



In the macrurans the abdominal part is detached from 

 the anterior one, and by means of fine forceps and a piece 

 of wire, flattened at the end and turned up in the form 

 of a little hoe, the flesh is easily removed. Rinse in weak 



