46 



Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



No other tools are necessary or even desirable, so far as my ex- 

 perience goes. . 



Being provided with these implements, you have only to sally forth, 

 and with perseverance you will succeed in finding whatever a given 

 locality is likety to produce, if attention is given to the following sug- 

 gestions : 



1. North hillsides are more apt to be productive than southern, unless 

 the latter are specially shaded and moist. 



2. Loamy hillsides and ravines will usually be more productive than 

 dry and rocky ridges. 



3. Many species inhabit regions of rank undergrowth and high weeds 

 along the borders of streams, just above high water level. 



4. Many minute species live in moss, under bark or in its crevices, 

 under stones, etc., and so-called "rare" species are often so because 

 their anomalous station has been the cause of their escaping notice. 



5. Search, carefull} T , with persevering labor, every new station, and 

 make such notes as will be of future assistance, if it is found to be pro- 

 ductive. 



6. Many of our snails are burrowing species. These can only be 

 collected abundantly and satisfactorily during the breeding season, in 

 early spring. This is the case with many of the larger species. 



Having found the specimens, transfer all the smaller ones to the 

 alcohol. Shells of Stenotrema can be cleaned by removing the animal, 

 but these, and all shells below them in size, except the Succineas, I 

 should drop into the alcohol. The larger species may be dropped, 

 promiscuously, into the collecting boxes mentioned above. When a 

 sufficient number of specimens has been secured, they must be cleaned, 

 and prepared for the cabinet. The following tools are necessary or 

 desirable : 



A few hooks of annealed wire, of different sizes and lengths. Take 

 i\wy piece of such wire, put a short, pine handle, of suitable size, on 

 one end, and file the other to a somewhat slender point. These are 

 used for drawing the snails out of the shells. They will hold better 

 if you bend the point into a small hook. Two or three brushes of 

 different sizes. I have a small thumb-brush, and two or three soft 

 tooth-brushes of different sizes. 



A test tube, five or six inches long, and half an inch in diameter, 

 and a pint of perfectly clean, fine sand. This can always be had by 

 washing and sifting an} r sand. 



A syringe, I find a rubber one, one inch diameter in the barrel, and 

 six inches long, with small nozzle aperture, to be the best. 



