96 
HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 
The leaves and stems of water plants shonld be examined, and Conferva 
taken ont of the water and well washed in a basin; in this, and the mud 
of ponds and still rivers, many minute shells may be found. 
The best way of preserving minute shells is to put them into glass tubes 
and use wool to stop them; it is better than cork. Capital collecting tubes 
can be made out of the smaller sorts of bamboo and the large grasses. 
A certain number of every species (at least a dozen) should be preserved 
in spirit for the sake of the anatomy. It is best to kill them first in water 
and then put them into the spirit; if this is not done they contract, so 
that it is impossible to form any idea of the form of the mantle and 
other parts, and they become so hard they are difficult to cut up. 
A good method of keeping the small shells and slugs, especially in 
spirit, is to put them into small tubes with labels, plug with wool, and 
then place in a large jar, capable of holding three or four dozen such 
small tubes. 
Other small shells, i to f of an inch in diameter, may be put into pill¬ 
boxes at once, for in a dry climate they very soon dry up. The very 
large animals may be removed by boiling them in water, but when time 
does not admit of attending to the cleaning of the shells, species such as 
unios may be put into empty soup-tins and then filled up with dry 
sand. 
It is very important to make a few notes on the colour of the animal, 
attaching a number for reference on the box or in the tube, and the 
operculum, when present, should always be preserved. 
With respect to slugs, note the surface of the mantle, and always the 
form of the extremity of the foot, whether pointed or provided with a 
mucous pore; and again the lobes of the mantle. Preserve them in spirit 
as above. Drawings from the living animal are invaluable, and should be 
made if possible. Very little is known of the Asiatic forms; they are of 
much interest, and have been very little collected. 
Insects .—Many of the most local and interesting insects of a country 
are not to be found without a knowledge of their habits, and some are 
nocturnal. In wooded and mountainous countries they must be searched 
for in dead wood, under logs, stones, fallen fruit, or moss, in folded leaves, 
on sandy river banks, and under shingle, about roots of herbage, in small 
dead vertebrated animals, &c., &c. The best way of forming a collection 
is to pin and set out the captures of each day before retiring to rest, and, 
