ON COLLECTING SHELLS. 



291 



positions, so as to show every portion of the surface as well 

 as all variations due to age, size, color, sculpture, etc. A 

 separate label should be used for each locality of a species. 

 When specimens are too small to be mounted on the card-board, 

 they are enclosed in a glass test-tube, made without flange, and 

 two and three-quarters inches in length ; so that a corlcmay pro- 

 ject from the open end sufficiently to secure a Mte against the 

 walls of the tray and thus prevent the tube from rolling. The 

 smallest sized tray mentioned above is not intended for specimens : 

 it is placed bottom-up in the collection, and to it is affixed a 

 label like the following, containing the name of the family, 

 subfamily, genus, subgenus or section. 



^jjramidella, 



Lam. 



A similar label, printed on thin paper is used for specimens 

 in alcohol, and is pasted on the upper part or neck of the bottle. 

 The best quality of bottles with ground-glass stoppers are used 

 to prevent the waste of alcohol by evaporation. Alcoholic 

 specimens are best displayed in an upright case. 



To return to the dried specimens : fossils, or those of light 

 color will appear much better if care is taken to paste a dark- 

 colored or black paper upon the label before affixing the shells. 

 The genera are separated in the drawers by thin wooden strips, 

 made of walnut and oiled or varnished, or of light-wood and 

 painted. These sti-ips made to fit tightly, also serve to hold the 

 traj^s in place in case these do not fill a drawer. Each drawer 

 should bear a label upon its face designating its contents — the 

 section, genus or family, as the case may be. 



Yery common specimens, if carefully cleaned and mounted 

 and labeled will be found quite attractive, whilst ttie most showy 

 species will, on the other hand, lose nearly all interest if care- 

 lessly prepared. The best collectors value their cabinets for 

 their coyidition quite as much as for their contents : and legiti- 

 mately so, for whilst carefully preparing his specimens the 

 collector learns their characters, and when so prepared they are 

 disposed so as to reveal these characters to others.* 



* For the convenience of those residing away fr>'ra the larger cities, 

 whei'e only museum supplies may be obtained, I annex the names of the 

 persons who furnish similar articles to the Philadelphia Academy : 



Paper trays : Union Paper Box Co., Cor. 5th and Jayne Streets ; Card- 

 board labels : W. P. Kildare, Printer, 736 Sansom Street ; Glass tubes ; 

 .John A. Yunck, 1126 Market Street. (AH of Philadelphia.) 



