As regards the particular time of day to collect with advantage, it has already been implied that a search in an open country should be prosecuted after a shower of rain, or during early morn. In damp woods, where throughout the day the air is sufficiently moist to maintain the animals in full activity, no such considerations determine the best time for collecting. In such places, light is usually the desideratum, and consequently I have found that a search conducted at midday in a clear sky has been amply rewarded. Land snails exhibit a partiality for calcareous soils, not only by those living on downs and hill-sides, but also by the woodland species. Having spent the forenoons of three days in gathering slugs and snails as before detailed, one evening was devoted to the preparation of the specimens for the cabinet. The first step was to remove the animals, and, as all know, it is neither an easy nor a clean task to separate the living snail and its house; but kill your snail, and the muscular connection with the shell being severed, its whole body is readily taken out by means of a pin--why, it is just like picking periwinkles; and if the proclivities of our childhood's days are not entirely obliterated, cleaning out larger snails from their shells will be a task requiring no teaching. But, with regard to the smaller kind, it is another matter, and it will be my duty to show you how to set about the work. Now pick out those shells, the apertures of which are wide enough, as it seems to you, to permit the removal of the dead body of the snail by a pin. You may also place with them the larger bivalves. All these we will boil to kill the animals; then strain off the water, and wash with cold water. By this means the bodies contract, and being firmer are not so liable to be broken in the process of removal. Shake the water out of the empty shell, and place them before the fire to dry; do not rub them, but particles of dirt may be gently flicked off by the aid of a camel-hair brush. Thus we treat the larger snails. Now for the mussels. Doubtless most of the dead bodies will have fallen out between the open valves while in the water; should any remain, a slight shaking of the shell held by the hand in the water will remove the contained body. Taken from the water, the valves gape widely; dry the inside and outside with a cloth, and having tape or cotton at hand, close the valves by the pressure of the thumb and fingers of the one hand, and with the end of the thread between your teeth, wind the thread two or three times around the shell with the other; now tie the thread as tight as you can. "Yes, I have done so, but still the valves are not closed." True, this is because of the elasticity of thread. If, however, you will take the precaution to wet the thread before tying, you will find that the tie is more secure, and that there is less difficulty in making the second knot.