Bl L HBAD BDWABD8. L5 



and thus take Into their stomachs algse which have diatom- 

 growing upon them. The entire animal should be pre- 



• (1 in spirits (if alcohol is not procurable, brandy or whisk* y 

 will answer), but if that be not convenient, they, as well as the 

 contents of the stomachs, may be dried without washing in any 

 way. It lias been found that holothurians, when they are im- 

 mersed in spirit, often turn their stomachs inside out, and thus 

 the contents, which are the part most valuable for the micro- 

 scopic organisms, will be found at the bottom of the containing 

 vessel. When the whole animal is preserved in spirit, the label 

 may be written in ink on stiff paper or parchment, and, when 

 quite dry, tied to the specimen and immersed with it in tie 

 spirit. In this way several specimens can be preserved in the 

 same vessel, and space economized. This method will be found 

 to be the best, as labels pasted or gummed on, or otherwi>e 

 attached to the vessel, are liable to be obliterated from leakage 

 of the contained fluid, or removed during transportation. The 

 stomachs of mollusca (shell fish) and crustaceans (lobsters, 

 crabs) also occasionally yield specimens of diatomacea, and it 

 will be well to secure specimens of those creatures in the man- 

 ner described. The stomachs of fish occasionally contain 

 diatomacea, and may be secured. 



Soundings, The material brought up from the ocean bed by 

 the sounding-line, or the larger masses procured by means of 

 the dredge, have been found to yield good returns of micro- 

 scopic treasures when examined. The calcareous shells of 

 foramifera, as well as siliceous polycystina and diatoinac< I 

 found in them. When kept for this purpose, note should be 

 made of the latitude and longitude, depth of water, along with 

 the name of the vessel and collector, and the date of col- 

 lection. 



7 e dust which collects at sea upon the *<u'.< or decks of • — s, 

 This kind of material, although not common, has been found 

 to be of interest when examined microscopically, It can gen- 

 erally be scraped up with a piece of paper. When the quantity 

 is so small that it cannot be collected in this way, a pit ce of 

 damp paper may be Laid on it once or twice, in several pL 

 and then folded up before it becomes dry. Latitude and lon- 

 gitude, direction of wind at the time of the Calling of the dust, 



