A certain amount of apparatus is needful in collecting geological
specimens. It is necessary to break open the hard rocks in order to get
at the fossils within, and for this purpose a strong hammer is required.
One end of the hammer-head should be square, tapering, slightly, to a
flat striking face; for when thus shaped the edges and corners are less
likely to break off; the other side should be produced into a rather
long, flat, and slightly curved pick, terminating in a chisel-edge at
right-angles to the handle; the total length of the head should not
exceed 91/2 in., the striking face being 3 in. from the centre of the eye
in which the handle (18 in. long) is inserted; the latter should be made
of the toughest ash, American hickory, or "green-heart," and fixed in
with an iron wedge ("roughed" to prevent its coming out again), taking
care that 1/4 in. of the handle protrudes on the other side. It is the
usual practice, but a mistaken one, to cut it off level with the hammer
head, which is likely, under these circumstances, to come off after it
has been in use for a time, whereas, by leaving a small portion of the
wedged-out end projecting, this mischance is avoided, and your weapon
will not fail even when used to drag its owner up a stiff ascent. It is
better to shape and fix the handle yourself, as by this means you can
not only cut it to fit your hand, but may rely upon its being properly
fastened in. By filing grooves around it an inch apart, it will serve to
take rough measurements with, while a firm grasp may be insured by
bees-waxing instead of polishing it. Another and much smaller hammer
will also be necessary, chiefly for home use, to trim the specimens
before putting them away in the cabinet; the head of this hammer must
not be more than 21/2 inches long, the handle springing from the centre;
one end has a flat striking face, square in section, the other, instead
of being formed like a pick, is wedge-shaped, the sharp edge being at
right-angles to the handle. Next to a hammer, a cold chisel is
indispensable to the collector, since without its aid many a choice
specimen embedded in the middle of a mass of rock too large to break
with the hammer would have to be left behind. There is one thing,
however, to beware of in using this tool--it has sometimes to be hit
with great force, and should you chance to miss it and strike your hand
instead, the result may be more serious than even a severe bruise. To
prevent this, procure from the shoemaker or saddler a piece of thick
leather, about 4 inches in diameter, having a hole cut in the centre
through which to pass the shank of the chisel, and, thus protected, you
may wield the hammer with impunity.
For digging fossils out of clay, an old, stout knife, such as the
worn-down stump of a carver, is handy, and in sandy beds an ordinary
garden trowel is very useful, whilst in a chalk-pit a small saw is
sometimes of great aid in extricating a desirable specimen. The same may
be said of an ordinary carpenter's wood-chisel. For picking up small and
delicate specimens, a pair of forceps should be carried, whilst without
a pocket lens no true naturalist ever stirs abroad. An ordinary stout
canvas satchel, such as is commonly used by schoolboys, is the best
thing for carrying home your specimens; this may be made much stronger
by the addition of two short strips of leather stitched on the back and
running, one from each ring, to which the strap passing over the
shoulder is fastened, down to the bottom of the bag; by leaving a small
portion unstitched near the bottom of each of these, wide enough for the
shoulder-strap to pass through, the satchel may at a moment's notice be
slung knapsackwise on the shoulders--a method of carrying it which is,
as all who have tried it know, by far the most convenient when it is
heavily laden or not in immediate requisition. A stout leather belt may
be worn in which to carry all your hammers, supporting it on the side
where the heavy hammer hangs by a band passing over the opposite
shoulder. Before starting on an excursion, make a practice of seeing
that you have everything with you, or when the critical moment comes,
and some choice and fragile specimen is ready to be borne off, you may
find that you are without the means necessary for taking it home. For
ordinary hard specimens, newspaper well crumpled around them is without
its equal, but some of the more delicate must be first wrapped in tissue
paper or even cotton-wool, whilst the most fragile fossils should be
packed in tins with bran or sawdust, the particles of which fill in all
the corners and press equally everywhere, a useful faculty which cotton
wool does not possess. When neither of these are to be obtained, dry
sand will answer quite as well, though it is heavier to carry.
Although not absolutely necessary in the field, it is often useful to
have a small bottle of acid in your pocket (nitric acid diluted to
1-12th with distilled water is the best) with which to test for
limestones; a drop of acid placed on a rock will, if there be any
carbonate of lime in it, immediately begin to fizz. Finally, every young
collector should carry a note-book, and carefully record in it what he
sees in each pit he visits, while, if it can be procured or borrowed, a
geological map of the district you are exploring is a great help, for
with its aid and that of a good compass you become practically
independent of much extraneous assistance.