MALTA AND SICILY. 
145 
therefore immediately tie them down to flat 
strips of wood, and having killed them with 
hot water, we keep them in that position till 
they are nearly dry and stiff. We then take 
them off, and carefully scrape out the fleshy 
part underneath, after which we gum them 
down on stiff pasteboard, to prevent the thin 
outside edge or margin from being broken. 
This excellent method of preserving chitons 
was communicated to me by Mr. Stuchbury, 
of the Bristol Philosophical Institution. 
I take so much interest in searching for 
our favourite chitons, that I sometimes re¬ 
main up to my knees in the water for four or 
five hours at a time. It is cold work for the 
hands and feet certainly, and by handling the 
rough stones, the tips of the fingers become 
very sore, and sometimes even bleed from 
the skin being worn through. When in this 
state, the salt-water is not a very soothing 
L 
