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Experiments at the British Museum have shown that the process 
may be speeded up very considerably by making a thick pulp of white 
blotting paper in distilled water. This pulp is applied to the specimen in 
a layer about a quarter of an inch thick and allowed to become perfectly 
dry, when it is peeled off, bringing most of the contained salts with it. 
Indeed, so much of the salt is removed in this way that the specimens are 
usually safe from deterioration if the process is repeated two or three times. 
Flaking may be prevented by soaking the specimen in celluloid solution 
after the salts have been removed. 
In the case of rough pottery from Alaska, generally lamps and cooking 
pots, the material is often filled with fatty substances that should be 
removed by soaking in benzine or gasoline. This should be done out of 
doors if possible; the roof of a museum building is often a safe and con- 
venient place for such work. 
Repairs to pottery may be made with celluloid cement, and missing 
portions may be restored by following the valuable suggestions of Mr. W. 
Orchard in Indian Notes 2:297-308, Oct. 1925, Museum of the American 
Indian, Heye Foundation, New York. 
The foregoing applies only, it should be noted, to unpainted pottery 
specimens. Painted pottery is extremely rare in Canada, if not entirely 
absent, but should such specimens be encountered, it is safer to avoid 
soaking altogether, to remove the salts with pulp, working from the un- 
painted side, and to apply a liberal coat of celluloid to the specimen 
when dry. 
Specimens with incrustations of soil and debris on the exterior which 
cannot be removed mechanically may be dipped for a short time in a 20 
per cent solution of muriatic acid in water, washed for several hours in 
clean water, and then dried and treated with celluloid. 
Much time and tedious handling of specimens may be saved by using 
a photographer’s washing tank in which the water is made to circulate 
through the whole tank before running to waste. The current should be 
slow but steady. The progress of the operation may be determined by 
testing the water with silver nitrate at the point where it leaves the tank. 
Silver 
Silver rivals copper in the number of methods of treatment suggested. 
Nearly all silver tarnish yields to the very simple method of soaking the 
specimen in a 5 per cent solution of formic acid in water. It should be 
allowed to soak for a minute or two and may then be taken out and rubbed 
gently with the finger tips, or with a tuft of cotton wool dipped in formic 
acid (5 per cent solution), thoroughly rinsed and washed in water, dried, 
and coated with celluloid. The work should be done in a glass bowl, 
graniteware, or porcelain. No metal vessel should be used. If the tarnish 
is advanced to the stage of corrosion, it may be necessary to use a 10 per 
cent solution of formic acid in hot water, keeping it warm and leaving the 
specimen immersed for several hours. If the corrosion is very advanced 
soak the object first in a 50 per cent solution of a rmonia in water and then 
use the hot 10 per cent formic acid solution. Avoid the temptation to 
chip off incrustations, as may be done with copper and bronze. Such 
methods if attempted with silver will be almost certain to ruin the specimen. 
