Sponges.—A live sponge is simply a vast colony of protozoan animals, each member of which lives an independent existence, but all are at the same time mutually dependent upon each other. The sponge of commerce, and the "cleaned" sponge of the museum collection is, like a branch of coral, merely the skeleton of the living aggregation. A live sponge is a dark colored, heavy, tough gelatinous mass, cold and clammy to handle, quickly offensive if left in the open air, and utterly useless until "cleaned," or rid of its mass of animal matter. The skeleton of a sponge may be horny, like that of the useful sponges of commerce; silicious, like the marvellously beautiful framework of the famous glass sponge of the Philippine Islands (Euplectella); or calcareous, like the curious little Grantia, which looks like a miniature bouquet-holder, with a frill of spines around its open end.

Owing to the extreme scarcity of sponge collections, very few persons know how great a variety of forms, and what really remarkable forms, exist no farther from home than the waters that wash the coast of our own beloved Florida. I once had the pleasure of collecting no fewer than sixteen distinct species on the beach between Biscayne Bay and New River Inlet, some of them of remarkable form, and all of them nicely cleaned for me by old Ocean.

Of course, I searched for sponges, and found many a fine specimen buried almost out of sight in the sand,—but what glorious fun it was, to be sure! There I obtained the large, coarse "basket sponge" (Hirvina campana), a hollow, inverted cone, often capable of holding a pailful of water; the remarkable finger sponge (Tuba vaginalis), which forms clusters of upright, hollow cylinders; a large cylindrical sponge of a rich brown color, and beautiful wiry texture, called Verongia fistularis; and sponges that were like trees, like interlocked deer antlers, and what not.

Professor H.A. Ward's last catalogue of invertebrates enumerated forty-three species of sponges that were on hand when the list went to press. Of these, the largest specimen was a huge Neptune's cup (Paterion neptuni), four feet in height, and shaped like a gigantic goblet, which came from the neighborhood of Singapore.

Therefore, I say, when on the seashore, be on the lookout for sponges. If you can find them on the beach ready cleaned and dried for you, so much the better; but if you get them alive, the soft animal matter must be macerated and washed away, just as you would macerate the flesh from a large skeleton. Soak them in fresh water for a short time to macerate the soft matter, then wash it out in salt water, and keep this up until the sponge is at last clean.

Corals.—The bleached white coral cluster of the cabinet is, like the sponge, only the skeleton of its former self. When it was forcibly torn from its foothold at the bottom of the sea it was covered with living coral polyps, which gave it the color which is peculiarly its own. Some species, notably Madrepores, when first taken from the water look like colored glass. The main branches are of a yellowish-brown tint, shading toward the tips to the most delicate and beautiful bluish purple. There is no way to preserve these colors, because they are due entirely to the presence of the living polyps. When those delicate organisms die, as die they must, the color vanishes, and if not cleaned and bleached, the coral assumes a dead, smoky brown appearance, suggestive of dust and dirt.

Therefore it is best to clean and bleach your corals at once. This requires a little time, but the process is "so simple a child can use it." Small specimens can be cleaned quickly by washing them in dilute muriatic acid, and afterward in clear water to keep the acid from going too far, and then placing them out in the sun to bleach. Large specimens cannot always be treated in this way, and the best plan for wholesale operations is to place the coral on the ground, in a sunny situation, and dash water upon it daily until the soft animal matter has been washed away, and the wind and sun combined have bleached the specimens to snowy whiteness.

As a general thing, the natives who live within reach of coral groves are in the habit of gathering it in quantity, cleaning it very successfully, and offering it for sale at prices that defy competition on the part of any scientific collector whose time is worth more than fifty cents a day. The best thing the collector can do is to get acquainted with the native fishermen and boatmen, treat them well and pay fairly, and then, if there is anything in the sea that his collectorship wants, it will soon be forthcoming. Thus, instead of the growth of the collection depending upon one or two men, there will be from ten to twenty local experts directly interested in it. I once came to a complete deadlock with my interpreter and three boatmen on the translation of the word "coral." They were Singhalese and Tamils, and coral was worse than Sanskrit to them. Finally, as a last despairing effort, I took a pencil and began to make a sketch of a madrepore. The crowd watched its progress in breathless silence until very soon one appreciative auditor shouted triumphantly, "Koki kalli!" The crowd joyfully echoed it, the mystery was solved, and in five minutes more we were afloat and on our way to seek

The packing and shipping of branching corals is a serious matter. I have tried every way I could think of, and have seen others do the same, and am firmly convinced that no matter how the large branching clusters are packed, they are bound to get somewhat broken anyway! Of course, if you care to travel with them and see to their handling at every transfer, that is another thing, but who can do that? The trouble is that the individual branches are so very heavy for the diameter of the stems next the base, a sudden jar causes them to snap in two by their own weight. But then corals are very beautiful, very interesting, and no matter though they are troublesome, we must have them.

In packing brain coral, and other compact forms without branches, the principal thing is to wrap them in sufficient soft materials that their surfaces cannot get rubbed, for that would ruin them. Do not pack a large chunk of brain coral without putting a partition across the box to hold it firmly in its own place, no matter how the box is turned. In Ceylon I once took the trouble to divide a large box into twelve separate compartments for the reception of that number of coral specimens.

In packing branching coral, a good quantity of soft, elastic, fibrous material like coir, cotton, tow, oakum, or something similar, is necessary. From first to last, take whatever precautions are necessary to keep your corals from getting filled with dirt and litter. Each cluster must lie on a thick pad of your fibrous material. In order to get downward pressure upon it, to hold it in place without breaking the branches, take some soft paper or cotton cloth, roll up a long, cylindrical pad of cotton or something else, and thrust it far down into the largest opening between the branches, with one end projecting above the top of the cluster to receive and transmit pressure from above. This principle, if properly carried out, will enable the collector to so firmly fix even the most fragile cluster that it is fitted to withstand pretty rough treatment in transit without serious damage.

Star-fishes.—When star-fishes are first taken from the water their arms are pliant, but after a bath in alcohol they become perfectly rigid. If left to themselves when first put into spirits, the smaller and more spider-like species will almost tie their arms into double bow-knots, and insist on keeping them so forever after. Since the way to cure a star-fish is to soak it in alcohol for from six to twenty-four hours, according to size, and then dry it flat and in good shape, it becomes necessary to pin the small ones firmly in shape upon thin boards before immersing them, and then they will "stay put." See to it that while in the spirits all your star-fishes, large and small, cure in proper shape, flat, and with each arm flat and extended in the right direction. After removal from the spirits, pin out all those not already fastened upon boards, and then let them dry. I have never found it necessary to poison the spirits, for the reason that dermestes and other insects seem to respect a dried star-fish for his own sake.

Echini.—In all tropic seas the collector is liable to find echinoderms, "sea-urchins," "sea-eggs," or " sea-porcupines." These creatures are usually spherical in shape, with the mouth underneath, and the internal structure of the animal is covered with a stout, calcareous shell of uniform thickness, which is set all over on the outside with a mass of protecting spines, usually fine and very sharp-pointed, but sometimes thick and blunt. In life the spines are movable, and by means of them the creature walks, or clings to its native rocks most tenaciously.

The best time to seek echini is at low tide, and the best places are those where the shore line is composed of rough rocks, scooped out here and there into shallow pools. Take with you a large basket, a large screw-driver, if you have one, or failing that, a knife with a long, stout blade. Wear old clothes, unless you can afford to spoil new ones. When the tide is low you can wade around in the now peaceful pools, and find the echini in the sheltered crevices, clinging to the bottom, or the perpendicular sides of the rocks, but always under water.

To dislodge them, the knife-point or the edge of the screw-driver must be neatly and skilfully worked under the victim far enough to enable you, with the exertion of some force and a steady pull, to pry him loose from the rock, whereupon he becomes your lawful prey. Next comes the cleaning process. With a small knife, detach the skin of the mouth parts from the edge of the round hole underneath, in the middle of which the mouth is situated, and remove all fluid and fleshy matter from the interior of the shell. That done, wash it out thoroughly. The bony jaws, or "Aristotle's lantern," may also be drawn out through the hole and thrown away—unless you happen to be collecting for some one who is studying the anatomy of echini, in which case he must speak for himself.

Having cleaned your sea-urchin, put it in clean alcohol (same strength as for fishes) and let it soak for about twenty-four hours. This will prevent the spines from gently dropping off, like leaves in autumn, when you proceed to dry the specimen. After soaking in spirits, put the specimens out in a shady place to dry. It is a curious fact that all the echini of Ceylon and Malayana lose their spines unless soaked in spirits before drying, whereas those of the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the West Indies can be dried without soaking, and the spines will not fall off.

Shells. "Living" and "Dead" Specimens.—The first thing that the amateur needs to learn about a shell is that it may be living or dead. As a general thing, what is technically called a "dead" shell is worthless in a cabinet. A live shell is one which has been collected with a living mollusc in it, and then duly cleaned, preserving all its beautiful colors. A dead shell is one in which the occupant died a natural death, has lain and bleached in the sunshine until its colors are entirely gone, and its form also ruined by the weather. Therefore I say, leave dead shells alone, unless it be that you are making an exhaustive collection of the species in a given locality, when a dead shell which is identifiable is as good a record as a living one. Where a shell is actually devoid of color, a dead shell is as good as a living one, provided it is collected before its edges or its angles have been rounded by exposure to the sun and rain. Many a living shell has an epidermis, the same as an animal, while a dead shell has none.

When shells are obtainable, who can resist the impulse to gather them? The man, woman, or child who is proof against the seductive powers of the beautiful and many-colored shells of the seashore "is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoils." Next to the pleasure of collecting shells one's self is that of witnessing the keen delight of children and ladies in gathering these beautiful treasures of the sea. If you have never yet had an opportunity to stroll along the smooth sands of an ocean beach at low tide, and gather your basketful of beautiful shells, curious sponges, bits of coral and coralline, while your soul is soothed by the rhythmic music of the surf, then I pity you. You have indeed yet something left to live for.

Hooker has divided the shell-bearing mollusca into three great groups—land, fresh-water, and marine—and the shell collector will do well to study each one separately.

Land Shells.—These are most abundant in the tropics, less so in the subtropical regions, and are rare elsewhere. They are seldom found where moisture is not abundant. In the tropics they are to be collected all the year round, but in the temperate zone it is best to collect them in the autumn, when they are fully grown. It is impossible, without devoting too much space to this subject, to give more than a general idea of the situations in which land shells are found. Some species are to be looked for on trees and bushes; others on rocks and stone walls; others again on the ground, and others again on the blades or in the roots of grass. In the tropics it is particularly desirable to watch for the beautiful land snails, which are almost strictly arboreal in their habits. They are to be found on the trunks and leaves of palms, the banana, myrtle, orange, and scores of other trees and shrubs.

Fresh-Water Shells which inhabit clear and shallow water are easily gathered with a stout hand-net. Where the water is murky, or so deep that the bottom cannot be seen, it is necessary to have an instrument like an iron-toothed rake, with the teeth set closely together, to be used as a sort of clam-dredge, raking the bottom and gathering up the mussels. In our own country the amateur collector will doubtless be surprised at the number of species of Unio which will repay the labors of a diligent collector.

Marine Shells.—If you would have one of the jolliest picnics in the world, don a suit of old clothes, equip yourself with a stout basket, a screw-driver with a long handle, and a case-knife with a thin blade,

Go before the tide is at its lowest ebb, and search in the vicinity of the largest boulders,[** bowlders] under ledges of rock, under loose stones, in shallow pools, in bunches of sea-weed, in fact everywhere along the shore. In these various places you will find cowries, ormers (Haliotis), chitons, limpets, and more others than I could name in an hour.

When wading in shallow water it is well to look out for the pestiferous sting-ray, and not step on one unawares, lest you find its caudal spine driven through your foot like a poisoned arrow. But, fortunately, they seldom trouble the collector. With the limpets, chitons, and other small shell-fish, you must work the point of your case-knife under them, and with it gradually detach them from the rock. Where such prey is plentiful, the collecting of it is grand fun, I assure you.

There are many bivalves which burrow or bury in the mud or sand, which must be dug out with a stick or trowel, while other species, still more enterprising, bore into wooden piles, and even into rocks! These, of course, can be collected only with the aid of a hatchet, or chisel, or stone-hammer, as the case may be. If you are on the Florida coast you will do well to search over the coral reefs and the mud flats at low tide. On the latter you will find conch-shells, pinnas, and numerous other species. I once made a very successful search for pinnas by wading around barefooted on a sandy flat on which the receding tide had left the water but little over a foot in depth. These shells were always found standing up in the sand, at bay, with their sharp edge up. By going barefooted as I did, you find the shells by stepping on them and cutting your feet, which is to be accomplished, however, without hurting the thin edge of the shell. A cut foot will heal up, but a broken shell never will.

Cleaning Shells.[7]—In gathering shells, particularly the marine species, many of them will be found covered with a thick, leathery, and persistent epidermis, and many others will be so buried under rough, limy accretions that their own fathers would scarcely recognize them. However beautiful such shells may be when cleaned, it is no child's play to clean them and get them ready for the cabinet. To any one willing to learn, the processes are really very simple; and what manual labor under the sun could be more interesting to a lover of natural history?

Removing the Animal.—With a large shell, such as a conch, the first step is to remove the living animal. In some cases I have accomplished this by hooking a fish-hook into the head of the animal and hanging it up so that the weight of the shell constantly pulling down on the animal would cause it to gradually relax and draw out. An excellent plan is to place the shell for a few days in fresh water and macerate the animal sufficiently that it may be drawn out. Fortunately the great majority of molluscs are very small, and it is possible to prepare them for

the cabinet without the necessity of removing the animal. Mr. Greegor's plan is to soak the shell in alcohol for a few days, to completely preserve the animal, and then dry it thoroughly to expel all the water from it. When that is done, the final step is to pour into the shell, through a rubber tube, a little thick varnish, or hot beeswax mixed with a little vaseline to make it flow readily, and thus cover the dried-up remains of the animal with an impervious coating which does away with all odors which might otherwise arise from it. This part of the process, be it understood, is to be attended to after the cleaning and polishing has been done.

Removing the Epidermis.—The epidermis is so tough and horny, and sticks so tightly to the shell that tools cannot remove it successfully and it must be done chemically. Make a strong solution of chloride of lime and water, by putting into a jar one-fourth its bulk of chloride of lime, two-fourths water, and leaving the remaining fourth part of the space for the froth that will rise. Soak shells in this pasty solution for a short time, and it will eat the epidermis off.

Removing Limy Accretions.—The bulk of all these thick, irregular coatings must be removed with steel tools—file, scraper, knife, sand-paper, or hammer—to suit each individual case. The tool that Mr. Greegor most relies upon is a small and very light hammer, made especially for him, which is shaped somewhat like a square-headed tack-hammer, with the pointed end drawn out to a blunt cutting edge, like the edge of a cold chisel. With this cutting edge a skilful hand can peck the lime or coral incrustations off a shell very neatly, and without injury to the surface of the specimen. Acid will not remove the thick, limy deposits, and they must be cleaned off by mechanical means.

After the bulk of the limy deposits have been removed by means of tools, the shell usually has a dull, lustreless appearance, and appears to require something that will remove the remaining particles of lime, impart to it a permanent gloss, and bring out its beautiful colors. Fortunately there is a way to do this to perfection, which consists in dipping the shell in a weak solution of muriatic acid and water, boiling hot. The strength of this solution must vary according to the nature of the specimen. For thick and strong shells, which by their solid character you are assured cannot be damaged by a maximum of acid, put 3 parts of muriatic acid in 10 parts water. For thin and delicate specimens, use 1 part acid to 10 of water, varying the amount of acid from 1 part to 3, as your experience will soon teach you is most desirable. Put this solution in a porcelain kettle, bring it to a boil, and then with a pair of wooden tongs or forceps dip each shell into it and hold it there for a second or more, as may be necessary. On removing it, wash it in clear water and dry it, and if its appearance is not satisfactory dip it again.

For very delicate shells, having a thin surface color, such as the Cypreas and Olivias, or such shells as have very delicate sculpture, the weaker solution is best. When it is desired to cut more on one part of a shell than another, the acid may be applied with a brush, finishing with a quick dip. Never allow any of the acid solution to remain on the shell, or it will eat into it and dull the lustre. For fine work, dry each specimen with a towel.

Shells which have on their exterior a great deal of horny or organic matter, such as Haliotis, Ostrea, Lingula, and a few others, work badly in acid, and require to be brushed constantly while cutting, to remove the organic matter, for the reason that the acid acts only on the lime of the shell.

Chloride of lime and muriatic acid are both very volatile, and when not in use should be kept in tightly closed vessels.