The Cabinet. 25 



* He furnishes his closet first, and fills 

 The crowded shelves with rarities of shells ; 

 Adds orient pearls, which from the wave he drew, 

 And all the sparkling stones of various hue." 



When live shells, as they are called — that is, 

 having the living fish in them — are obtained, the 

 best plan is to place them in spirits of wine ; this 

 at once deprives the inhabitant of life, without 

 injuring the shell, which should then be placed in 

 hot water for a time ; the body of the mollusk is 

 thus rendered firm, and may be removed by means 

 of some pointed instrument. Care should be taken 

 to leave no portion of animal matter within, or 

 after a while it will become putrid, and give out 

 a stain, which will show through and injure the 

 delicate markings of the shell. The surest, most 

 expeditious, and least troublesome mode of cleans- 

 ing a shell, is to place it in an ant heap for a day 

 or two ; the busy little insects will penetrate into 

 its inmost cavities, and remove hence all offending 

 matter. There will be no difficulty in this respect 

 with the multivalve and bivalve kinds, which are 

 only kept closed by means of a set of muscles, 

 which can be tightened or relaxed at the pleasure 

 of the animal within, and become powerless to 

 keep the shell closed as soon as that is dead. 



