I knew somebody would make a joke about my typo of tax for tar, but figured
it would be Art.  You beat him to it.

The Turbinella angulata (West Indian Chank) is one that is plain, cream
instead of white, under the periostracum.  My husband hates when I remove
it, but It causes a real mess on the shelf after about a year.  Any other
ideas on how to preserve it without the dangerous part?

Another might be the Cymatium pileare.  Exception being, it is just as
lovely under the periostracum.  A mature Pleuroplaca gigantea is frequently
pure white under the periostracum.

Sylvia S. Edwards
Huntsville, Alabama
[log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: G Thomas Watters <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, October 29, 1999 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] Oil


> Sylvia S. Edwards wrote:
>
> >Cigarette lighter fluid, the kind you buy to refill the old type
lighters,
> >is naphtha.  It is flammable, but not explosive. I have kept it around
for
> >years.  It is an excellent household cleaning product.  Removes grease,
oil,
> >tax, wax, gum, labels, crayon and heel marks.
>
> Tax? Yes, it's true. I dunked an IRS agent in naptha, threw a match... It
> really does work!
>
> Yeah, yeah, I hear you whiners. The shell-related portion:
>
> Here at the Mussel Museum we dunk unionids in a solution of 1 lb paraffin
> dissolved in a gallon or so of xylene or toluene. The shells are left to
dry
> under a hood, and the result is a nearly invisible coating that retards
the
> flaking of the periostracum - which is very important to unionids. All of
> the outer color pattern is strictly in the periostracum - the shell is
white
> (except for the nacre inside - so DON'T remove the periostracum from
> unionids!). Don't try this at home kids without adequate ventilation.
> Carcinogenic. Flammable. "It will rearrange your chromiums." Nuffsaid.
>
> But this raises another question. In what other major group of molluscs is
> the outer pigment and patterns only in the periostracum. Most people strip
> away the periostracum from their marine specimens to get at the colors
> underneath.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> G. Thomas Watters
> Ohio Biological Survey &
> Aquatic Ecology Laboratory
> Ohio State University
> 1315 Kinnear Road
> Columbus, OH  USA
> v: 614-292-6170
> f: 614-292-0181
>