418 LOGS, NOTES, LABELS ; ODDS AND ENDS 



Chinese ink ; both of these stand years of immersion in 

 formalin or alcohol. 



Paper labels are unsatisfactory in the case of fish 

 preserved in tanks, for the friction caused by the motion 

 of the ship rapidly obliterates the writing. A folded 

 label, with the writing inside, will, however, be found 

 to stand fairly well if inserted in the mouth or under 

 the gill cover of the fish ; better still are the soft copper 

 labels supplied for use in gardening. 



Three sample logs form pp. 416, 417, to be varied 

 according to the character of the work proposed ; the 

 italics represent examples, not real observations. If the 

 traveller does not intend to take detailed temperatures 

 and water observations, everything at sea can be got 

 on to the first pattern. The writer strongly recom- 

 mends the principle of a number for each day (12.0 mid- 

 night till 11.59 P- m -)> an d a letter for each operation ; 

 this method simplifies labelling, and enormously facili- 

 tates reference. Anyone who has worked over the 

 Reports of some recent expeditions, in which each kind 

 of gear and observation had its special series of numbers, 

 will appreciate the advantages of a single series, and of 

 a single printed table to which to refer. 



The log and note books cannot contain too many 

 details. Their value may not be apparent at once, but 

 someone, perhaps in twenty years' time, will find in 

 them just the clue that he is seeking. 



It is hardly possible to get out a log for the shore- 

 collector ; he must rely chiefly on his notebook. In 

 this case also it is a good plan to take a number for each 

 day's work, subdividing it by letters according to his 

 fancy. The following points should always be noted. 



Date ; locality (from W. side of Smith's Point for 

 two miles westerly) ; time (12.0 noon to 6.0 p.m.) ; tide 

 (half-ebb to L.W., springs) ; weather (cloudy and blowy, 



