148 



THE AMERICA]^ MONTHLY 



[August, 



glass, and gently move it from side to 

 side, which will cause the sand to 

 settle ; slant the glass toward one 

 corner, and draw oft' with the pipette 

 and place in the bottle ; add more 

 water to the glass and draw oft' as 

 before, until nothing but sand and 

 spicules remain ; repeat this process 

 five or six times with the small glass. 

 The material is now placed in the 

 shaking bottle, and a few drops of 

 ammonia added. Shake vigorously 

 two or three minutes, allow to settle, 

 draw oft' carefully, and repeat this, 

 process ten times. Sand again by 

 means of the embossing glasses, and 

 the work is finished. 



In this work everything depends 

 on the thoroughness of the sanding 

 and the faithful manner in which the 

 shaking is performed. The shaking 

 is, next to sanding, the most import- 

 ant part. 



In regard to the acid treatment, I 

 may say that good results can be pro- 

 duced by either nitric, sulphuric, or 

 muriatic acid, but muriatic acid should 

 never be poured into sulphuric 

 without great caution, for it will boil 

 over. Muriatic acid by itself pro- 

 duces good results. So also does 

 nitric acid, but I have found the best 

 results are obtained by the use of the 

 nitric acid, followed by the sulphuric. 

 It does no harm to boil again in nitric ; 

 this must be done if the sulphuric 

 acid is not . thoroughly washed out, 

 otherwise crystals would form on the 

 glass. 



The best stand I have ever seen for 

 holding the boiling dish is a tin-can 

 procured from any drug-store, with 

 a tin top ; it is about ten inches high 

 by about six inches broad. Cut a hole 

 through the top to fit the dish, then 

 cut a door large enough for the lamp 

 to be placed through, one or two air 

 holes near the top, and it is ready for 

 work. 



I use a dentist's chip-blower to draw 

 the water out of my shaking bottle, 

 and would advise others to do the 

 same, as it saves many valuable forms 

 from being poured oft' when decant- 



ing. My shaking bottles are about 

 four-ounce vials, or vials that the tube 

 of the chip-blower will easily reach 

 the bottom. 



In regard to my experience with 

 Mobile Bay mud, I will only say that 

 I took soundings every half mile for 

 twelve miles in one way, and for 

 thirty miles in another, and obtained 

 samples of mud from any and every 

 point I possibly could. I worked for 

 more than a year before I found any 

 forms except those that were worth- 

 less. My first find was from a dredge 

 boat, seventeen and a half miles from 

 the city. I had only a small hand 

 full of this material. So I eagerly 

 sought for more, but, alas ! the dredge 

 sank during a gale, and I was unable 

 to procure any more for months. I 

 next found good forms in mud from 

 the bay one half mile from Fort 

 Morgan. Again I obtained fine re- 

 sults from Lower Dog River Bar ; 

 I obtained this material by means of 

 a tug-boat. I found a few good forms 

 in Heron Bay, a small bay which 

 makes into an island situated in Mo- 

 bile Bay. The Pensacola material 

 was procured for me by means of a 

 row-boat, about one mile from Pen- 

 sacola. 



I do not like to speak of my trials 

 and failures in working Mobile Bay 

 muds, because when I look back upon 

 them I am almost tempted to disbe- 

 lieve myself. Suffice it to say I spent 

 eighteen months on this one deposit 

 without reward. Many a night have 

 I sat up watching my bottles, which 

 were placed between two lamps on 

 the chimney-piece. I can remember 

 my delight when, after a week's work, 

 I would discover a single form, per- 

 haps two, surrounded by a mass of 

 sand ; and such sand ! I dreamt 

 about that sand, fought with it, but 

 for eighteen months it was my master. 

 This long work, without success, 

 taught me the lesson of patience, and 

 finally resulted in my success. I de- 

 clared war against the sand and tried 

 to master it by watching the settlings, 

 but in vain, until I adopted the plan 



