377 

 METHODS OF COLLECTING MINUTE MOLLUSCA. 



H. BEESTON. 



In The Journal oj Conchology, Vol. VII. (1893), p. 208, Mr. 

 R. Standen gives a list of shells (chiefly the minuter species) 

 obtained by sifting the deposits from the ' pockets ' of the 

 Sand-dunes of Portsalon, Ireland. He collected 446 shells, 

 representing 15 species, from a pint of deposit. 



In The Irish Naturalist, Vol. XVIII. (1909), p. 115, Mr. 

 R. Welch also gives a list of 14 species obtained from sifting 

 dune deposits obtained at Tramore (Horn Head) N.W. Donegal. 



In both these instances the shells were already collected 

 together b}^ wind or water action, and only required ' bagging,' 

 sifting and sorting. They were all practically on the surface 

 or very slightly buried. 



It is quite evident that if all these species had had to be 

 searched for alive in their original habitats, the quest would 

 have been a long and tedious one, and certainly not as suc- 

 cessful as far as the number of species is concerned, as the easy 

 method of collecting and sifting the sand from the pockets. 



This leads us to the aim of this short article. 



In August, 1913, I spent a short holiday at x\rnside, West- 

 morland, with the intention of following my conchological 

 bent, but as the weather was extremely dry, I was somewhat 

 disappointed with the results. 



Knowing it was useless wasting time searching hedgerows, 

 etc., I decided to try my luck in the woods, and so crossed 

 over to Eggerslack Wood— the conchologist's paradise — 

 Grange-over-Sands. 



My special quest was the two rare species Acicula lineata 

 and Acanthinula lameUata, both of which I knew were to be found 

 in the wood. 



Arriving there, I carefully removed the topmost layer of 

 sun-dried beech leaves and began the search. 



An hour's diligent operations on a hot August day, with 

 little or no result, is discouraging work. Having a canvas 

 collecting bag, it suddenly occurred to me to collect as much 

 material as possible and try the sifting process, which has been 

 so successful with sand-pocket debris. 



I carefully filled the receptacle with the half -decayed leaves 

 and leaf mould from the layers, which were covered thickly 

 with white mycelium threads, from two or three inches below 

 the surface. 



This bag of refuse I carefully dried in the sun, rubbed it 

 gently through my hands, and threw away the largest leaves, 

 sticks, etc., leaving only the smaller broken particles, and the 

 bulk of the mould. 



I then sifted the residue roughly through a large mesh 



1918 Dec. 1. 



