The most beautiful private self-collected grouping I have ever seen was by a couple who lived in the Philippines for a few years. They shelled only at night and described to me a square box with wooden sides and a plexiglass bottom. They sat the Coleman lantern in the box and pushed it along in front of them. They used pine oil almost exclusively to clean their shells. It was very obviously quite successful. After they returned to the States they regretfully sold their collection to a private collector because they had need of the money. The purchaser is now deceased and I have often wondered what happened to the collection. Sylvia in Alabama On Mon, 12 Jan 1998 13:10:05 +0000 Horatio Buck <[log in to unmask]> writes: <snip> >(preferably minus), I found the Coleman propane lantern to be the best >light. A spare tank of propane and a good cigarette lighter kept you in >good light for six hours or more. As a matter of fact, during minus tides >on Bolo Point, you could almost read a newspaper from the light of >everyone's lanterns. Very few reef walkers relied on flashlights. I might >also state that a can of propane can be very valuable if you forgot to bring >a spare. > >Horatio >