OOI^TEJ^TS. 



Paga 



Introduction 5 



Part I. — Fossils and their manner of occurrence 5 



Definitions 5 



Conditions in whicli fossils occur 6 



Part II. — Apparatus and methods of collecting invertebrates and plants 8 



Kinds of rocks and situations in which fossils may be found 8 



General collecting outfit 10 



Directions for collecting fossil plants 11 



Directions for collecting fossil invertebrates 12 



Packing invertebrates and plants for shipment 15 



Part III. — Method of collecting fossil vertebrates 16 



Outfits 16 



Discovery and removal of skeletons . . . .' 16 



Packing for shipment 18 



Field labels and notes 19 



Part IV. — Preparation of fossils for study 19 



Separating fossils 19 



Clay and marl washing 20 



Washing unweathered shale 20 



Washing for microscopic organisms 21 



Directions for hardening soft fossils 22 



Methods of recording fossils 23 



Trimming and cleaning 24 



With tools and brushes 24 



With acids and potash 25 



Preparing skeletons 27 



Artificial casts and squeezes from natural molds 27 



Methods of preventing decomposition 27 



Permanent labels and paper trays 28 



Appendix : List of some important localities for fossils in North America 28 



[3] 



