of live shells. Anthills
are few and small in New Zealand, so the lazy man's method of putting
shells on an anthill, and letting the insects do the work, is
impracticable. Boiling for a minute will not hurt the stronger and
heavier shells; but even pouring boiling water on the more delicate
shells will cause them in time to fade. After taking the shells out of
the boiling water, let them cool, and then place them in cold, fresh
water for a couple of days in summer or for a week in winter, changing
the water every day. The animal can then usually be removed with a
bradawl, or, better still, a sail needle stuck into a cork. Although
soaking in fresh water for a few days makes the animal slip out more
easily, still a large proportion will break during extraction. The piece
left behind must also be extracted, or the shell will be offensive. The
coarser shells can be buried for a few months in sandy soil, or for a
few weeks on a sandy beach below high water mark, or put in baskets or
bags made of twine or netting, and placed in tidal pools, or fastened to
stakes at low water mark, where the marine insects will quickly do their
share of the work. Or they may be buried in a boxful of clean sand or
sandy soil, and the sand kept moist by watering it every few days. The
box is all the better for being put away in a damp place under a tree,
or on the shady side of a building or fence. This, however, is a slow
process, and if the specimens are required at once, the best way is to
extract all you can of the animal by the hot water and soaking process,
and then keep the shell half-full of water in a shady place, every
morning holding it under a water tap and shaking it carefully. After
each shaking a very little pure muriatic acid may be put into the shell,
and when all the effervescing from the acid is over, wash and shake it
again. Two or three mornings of this treatment should clean the shell.
The more delicate shells will lose their colour if put into boiling
water, so first put the boiling water in a basin and then place the
shells in it. Nearly all salt water shellfish, if soaked for a few hours
in fresh water, will die. The only exceptions I know of are the Nerita
and Littorina, families which are semi-amphibious. The best way to
remove coral or vegetable growths from shells is to leave them for a few
weeks, or if very hard, for a few months, in a shady place, where the
wind and rain can get at them, but not the sun. The growths