58 INVERTEBRATE PALAEONTOLOGY 



the specimens will be ruined by attrition. Small fossils 

 are best packed in boxes or tins, surplus space being 

 filled with moss or grass. Even so they must be 

 wrapped in paper, lest green stains soak into and 

 disfigure them. An excellent plan for safe removal of 

 friable shells extracted from clay is to gently bury them 

 in some of their own matrix enclosed in a tin. They 

 will be secure against ordinary vibration, and can be 

 washed out quite safely if unpacking is not unduly 

 delayed, 



(B) PREPARATION 



(I) NEED FOR PATIENCE 



Extraction of fossils from matrix, and further 

 processes preparatory to study, may be compared with 

 dissection of biological material. In both cases practice 

 affords the only means of acquiring skill, and early 

 attempts must often lead to the sacrifice of cherished 

 specimens. It is erroneous to imagine that cleaning 

 fossils is a rough-and-ready business ; the delicacy of 

 touch and deliberation required are in no way inferior 

 to those necessary for anatomical work. Indeed, in 

 some respects the greater restraint is imposed upon 

 the Palaeontologist. An anatomist usually has reliable 

 knowledge of the resistance that tissues will offer to his 

 scalpel ; but no constancy of texture can be assumed 

 for a matrix. Frequent need for application of con- 

 siderable force demands constant watchfulness, lest the 

 tool should slip into soft material and reach the 

 specimen. 



One advantage over the Zoologist lies in the dura- 

 bility of palaeontological material. There is no need to 

 hasten dissection lest the object should decay ; in many 

 cases the refractory nature of matrix is mollified by 



