hell 
as realad 
and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, a good plan is 
to immerse them in methylated spirit for twenty-four hours 
or more, according to size. The alcohol removes the water 
from the tissues of the animals’ bodies, and by destroying 
all putrifactive organisms renders them perfectly inodor- 
ous. Slightly warm the shells after removing from the 
spirit, when they will dry very rapidly, and may be placed 
in the cabinet almost immediately. It is surprising, too, 
how clean these shells become if left for some weeks in 
spirit. The green stains which are so common are entirely 
dissolved out, and the Nulliporites (vegetable concretions) 
are softened to such an extent that they can be scraped or 
picked off without difficulty. 
Now for those shells of an inch and upwards in dia- 
meter, I am afraid the only commendable course is to boil 
them for a quarter of an hour or so, and then, with a sharp, 
curved skewer, using a twisting movement, carefully un- 
screw the animal out of the shell. You may manage to 
extract the body intact, and possibly you may not; a large 
portion of the tail or hinder end often being left behind 
in the spire of the shell. In that case the only plan is_ 
washing out vigorously every day with fresh water until 
the part begins to macerate, when it may be easily jerked 
out. With some species, boiling seems to injure the epi- 
dermis, and the colour suffers in consequence. It will be 
as well, under these circumstances, to save a few specimens 
and place them in a wooden box, perforated at the ends, 
so that, while blowflies, ants, and scavenger beetles may 
have free access to them, they are at the same time pro- 
tected from the sun and rain. Wash them daily, but dry 
the shells every time water is used. Do not omit to keep 
the operculum for two or three specimens, as well as for 
your duplicates. When perfectly sweet and clean, the 
shells may be stuffed with cotton wool, and with a dab 
of liquid glue the operculum may be secured in its proper 
position. In order to remove barnacles, mussels, and other 
parasites, a piece of sharpened wood is the best thing to 
use, or a penknife; but the knife requires gentle manipula- 
tion, lest it damage the shell irretrievably. Some incrusta- 
tions are best attacked with spirits of salts diluted with 
equal parts of water, but be sure to have a bowl of water 
at hand in which to dip the shell from time to time before 
corrosion proceeds too far. Then a rag, with a pinch of 
fine sand sprinkled on it, may be carefully rubbed over the 
shell, which should be examined every now and then to 
see how you are getting on; perhaps giving another touch 
of acid here and there to obstinate spots, but always with 
extreme caution. As this acid is corrosive in its action, 
6 
