Kurt Auffenberg wrote:
>
> A.
> You ready for this one??  Cactus spines.  Collected a bunch in Haiti one
> time with Fred Thompson.  They work great.  For those workers without
> access to these wonderful little natural instruments of fine destruction,
> use the finest insect pins you can locate.  Don't try to cut (easy on a
> Busycon), but tear and tease things apart.  No coffee.  In fact, a small
> beaker of Kentucky's finest takes the edge off any spasms experienced
> during dissections . . . . .Seriously, the dissector has to be completely
> together when dealing with something like Vertigo.  It's time-consuming and
> tedious work as with most worthwhile endeavors.
>
> Kurt
>
> At 11:34 AM 2/10/99 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hi,
> >I have a question to the dissection experts out there: what instrument does
> >one use to cut open a tiny snail like a Vertigo?
> >
> >A.
> >
Cactus spines is a great idea. And they should be available at almost
any garden store. The management may ask you to take the cactus along
with you to grow more of your own disectors, but then the management may
also be able to refer you to the sharpest, longest, etc.,
   Art