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Collecting American Seashells 63
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 pre-
serve 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 stifl" 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. Com-
mercial dealers dip the Pink Queen Conch, for example, for five or ten sec-
onds 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 r^vo 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.
THE SHELL COLLECTION
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.