Dear Christine,
Welcome to the list.
I agree with what has been said so far but have a couple of bits to add.
I had heard of some concerns using organic oils to bring up shine and colour
(I think in terms of rate of decomposition) and have switched to vaseline
which I gently rub in with my fingers and then wipe off the excess.
If you are thinking of a database then you are wanting to identify your
species and for a scientific collection keep locality data. This can become
a little difficult if you keep all the specimens in large glass jar as they
get mixed up quickly, although this is a good way to show off the specimens.
Also a computerised database is great but I still like to maintain a hand
written card index with species name, auther, locality, habitat, collector,
price(if bought) size etc. I find this very useful now that I have a larger
collection if I want to work on a group of species as I can lay the cards
and specimens out together on a table all at once. However it is a lot of
work.
Regards
Geoff Macaulay
(Australia too)



>From: Christine Szpaczek <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Conchologists of America List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: New Collector - Questions
>Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 20:50:58 +1000
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>I am a very new collector, only been actively looking for shells for about
>6
>months. I must say before I start that I have been passively participating
>on this list for about a month now and have found it very resourceful and
>interesting.
>
>I am at the point were I have quite a few piles of specimens that I have
>collected while beach walking (nothing fantastic - but have to start
>somewhere). I only collect dead shells from the beach or shallow waters
>when
>snorkelling. I mainly collect shells cause I love looking at their shapes
>and colours and then trying to identify them (all part of the fun).  I am
>in
>the process of creating a database to start organising my collection.
>
>Just wondering a few things. (Please remember I am new at this)
>
>Is it ok to display the shells in large glass jars?  Any reasons why I
>shouldn't?
>
>Have been reading some material on cleaning shells (eg bleach).  Are there
>any shells that I shouldn't clean in this? Or is there anything
>better/safer
>I should be using?
>
>What is the best product to bring up the shine in a shell? (have read a few
>varying ideas)
>
>Thanks in advance
>Christine
>(Australia)


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp