Page:American Seashells (1954).djvu/81

Rh valves are usually the easiest to boil and clean. Allow your pairs to dry in the flat, open or “butterfly” position, as this will permit ready inspection of the hinge teeth for identification purposes.

There are many minute species which obviously cannot be boiled and picked clean. Shells less than one third of an inch may be soaked in seventy percent grain alcohol, and then placed in the sun to dry thoroughly. This strength of alcohol is also ideal for pickling squid, octopus or the soft parts of other mollusks. Isopropyl alcohol may be used, but it is best to use this at a fifty percent strength. Never use formaldehyde (or formalin) to preserve mollusks. The shell turns soft, loses color and often crumbles away in a few months.

When a shell has been cleaned of its soft parts, it must next be prepared for the collection. Most shells are ready for display and most attractive in their natural state. However, a large number of gastropods, whose beauty is hidden by coral and algal growths, are in need of a certain amount of “face lifting.” A stiff brush, soapy water and diligence will usually suffice. Many collectors soak specimens in a strong chlorine solution for a few hours. This removes a great part of the unsightly growths and will not damage the shell. It will also remove the natural periostracum or thin corneous layer on the outside of the shell. However, when you have several specimens to add to your collection, it is best to keep at least one in its natural state.

Very few expert collectors use acid in treating shells, since this often gives specimens a very unnatural, although colorful, sheen. It is used occasionally to remove limy deposits and to brighten up old specimens. Commercial dealers dip the Pink Queen Conch, for example, for five or ten seconds in a vat of one part muriatic acid to four parts of water and then rinse in fresh water. Shells may be dipped with forceps in full strength oxalic or muriatic acid for two seconds and then immediately put under running cold water. This may be repeated until the desired effect is obtained, but it should be pointed out that any acid treatment ruins most shells for scientific study.

Polishing abalone shells and cutting cross-sections of larger shells require special equipment such as electrically run burring wheels and circular diamond cutters. A visit to a shell factory will be of profit to those wishing to undertake this interesting hobby.

Although seashells are easy to keep since they do not deteriorate and generally do not fade in color like many insects, they present many special problems in housing because of their many sizes and shapes. There are three general types of collections—the knickknack shelf, the display arrangement and the study collection.