54
THE BRITISH WOODLICE.
"palmer," and "cudworm." In the eastern counties the same
writer notes that they are known as "old-sows" or "St.
Anthony's hogs" while the Welsh call them "little grey-hogs,"
"the little old women of the wood" or "grammar-sows,"
grammar signifying a shrivelled up old dame. Oniscus asellus
was sometimes called "socchetre," "church louse," and
"chinch."
Methods of Collection and Preservation.—Woodlice
should be collected straightway into tubes or bottles half filled
with 30 per cent. methylated spirit.3 Woodlice dropped into
this weak spirit become gradually narcotised and die, and they
remain limp enough for purposes of examination or to allow, of
their legs and antennas being set out during the process of
mounting. Specimens to be kept permanently should be placed
in 70 per cent. alcohol. For storage purposes the specimens of
each species from a given locality should be put together into a
small flat bottomed tube such as are used for pillules by
apothecaries or specially made for natural history purposes. A
paper label on which the name, locality, date of capture and any
other necessary particulars have been written with dark lead
pencil, is not affected by the spirit. The tubes may be corked,
though if not frequently examined all the spirit may evaporate,
and cause the specimens to be spoilt. A safer method is to plug
the tubes with cotton wool and keep all those containing a given
species or specimens from a particular locality beneath the
surface of spirit in a large wide-mouthed bottle, into which first
of all some cotton wool has been put to prevent the tubes from
coming into sudden contact with the glass at the bottom. For
show purposes in museums, specimens taken direct from 30
per cent. spirit should be mounted on slips of opal glass by
means of gum-tragacanth which has been powdered and shaken
up in spirit before having water added to it. The slips can be
exhibited in glass tubes, six inches high by one across, or in
narrow stoppered museum jars. A variation of the method is to
mount the animals on clear glass and to place behind them
another strip of any colour that may be preferred.
3 It should be pointed out that the methylated spirit now sold in the shops contains
mineral naptha and goes milky on the addition of water. Permission can be obtained from
Somerset House to buy what is still called "ordinary methylated spirit," but at present five
gallons has to be purchased at one time.