CHAPTER I. 



HOW TO COLLECT AND PREPARE FOSSIL LWERTEBRATES. 



(A.) Collecting Fossils. 



Outfit. The outfit needed for collectino- fossils is a very 

 simple one. It consists of the following- articles : 



1. A Collecting Bag, basket or other receptacle for carry- 

 ing the fossils. The dimensions of the leather bag commonly 

 used by geologists and palaeontologists are 13 x 13 x 4 

 inches. It opens at one end. where it is protected by a flap, 

 which may be secured by a buckle. It has an additional 

 pocket for a note-book, and has a strap for carrying it on 

 the shoulder. The common canvas hunting-bag, obtainable 

 at an}^ gun store, is well suited for this work, and has the 

 additional advantages of being light and cheap. 



2. Hammers. A mason's or bricklayer's hammer, with a 

 square face and a peeii end. which tapers with the cutting- 

 edge transverse to the handle, and a small square-faced and 

 sharp-edged trimming hammer, are needed. The former is 

 used to pry up the shale laminse. and is especially useful in 

 the beds of the streams, while the latter is used to ti'im off 

 most — not all — of the superfluous rock.* 



3. Chisels. Several stone-cutter's chisels of different sizes, 

 for cutting the fossils from the limestone, are needed. 



4. Wedges. Two or three large steel wedges, for prying 

 up large slabs of rock, are exceedingly useful. 



5. Lens. The collector should always be provided with 

 a fairly good lens of large field. 



6. Note-book. Some form of note-book, for recording 

 observations on the spot, should be taken into the field. 

 Those with the paper bound on the end instead of the side 

 are more convenient. 



* The hammers here described can be obtained from Fayette R. Plumb. Philadelphia, 

 Pa., under styles G. and N., at $1.25 and $0.60 respectively. 



