For collecting the smaller fresh-water Crustacea—Water-fleas and the like—a small muslin ring-net may be used in ponds and ditches. The plankton of the open water of lakes is best obtained by means of a tow-net like that described above for use in the sea.
The interesting blind species known as "Well Shrimps" are to be looked for in the water of springs and wells. In wells fitted with a pump, Professor Chilton found that "the Crustacea are often brought up most abundantly when pumping is first commenced, and that jerking the handle of the pump somewhat violently is often more successful than pumping at the ordinary rate." In disused open wells, they may be trapped by baiting a muslin ring-net with a piece of stale meat or fish, and pulling it up rapidly after it has remained in the well for a few hours. The subterranean waters of caves have yielded many curious species in various parts of the world. For the capture of species living in the deep water of large lakes, a special form of dredge has been devised with runners to prevent it from sinking into the soft mud, while the mouth of the net is raised a few inches above the bottom.
For preserving Crustacea the best medium to use is 70 per cent. alcohol. Strong spirit diluted with a little less than one-third its bulk of water gives about the required strength. If too strong spirit is used, the specimens tend to be hard and brittle, and delicate organisms become shrivelled. Methylated spirit as sold in the shops in this country contains mineral naphtha, and turns milky when water is added, so that it is unsuitable for preserving specimens. Methylated alcohol without naphtha can be bought, by permission of the Inland Revenue authorities, but only in considerable quantities at a time.
Formalin is very cheap and readily obtained, but it is much less suitable than spirit for most Crustacea, as it tends to make them stiff and fragile, and small forms containing much lime, such as Cumacea, may become decalcified. For Crustacea collected by the tow-net, however, formalin gives good results. A few drops of strong formalin, added to the water into which the tow-net has been washed, kills the animals in a few minutes. After they have sunk to the bottom, the liquid may be poured off and replaced by formalin diluted with sea-water (for marine plankton), or by a mixture of formalin and spirit. The most suitable strength of formalin varies with different organisms, but 5 per cent. (i.e., 1 part of commercial formalin to 19 parts of water) is perhaps most generally useful.
Crabs, Prawns, and the like, if put alive into strong spirit, may throw off some of their limbs, or else become so rigid that these break on the slightest manipulation. This may often be avoided by killing the animals in weak spirit (30 per cent. or less) before preserving in strong spirit. Marine species may also be killed by placing them in fresh water, care being taken not to allow them to remain in it longer than is necessary, as it causes distortion of the membranous appendages.
The larger Crabs, Lobsters, and the like, may be preserved dry, although in this state they are unsuitable for examination of the more delicate appendages. The carapace should be detached, and the soft parts cleaned away as far as possible, a bent wire being used, if necessary, to remove the flesh from the legs. The specimens should be dried in the shade, to preserve as much as possible of the natural colour.
With specimens intended for permanent preservation in spirit, the use of corks should be avoided, as they discolour the spirit, and ultimately the specimens. Small specimens are most conveniently kept in glass tubes closed with a piece of clean elder-pith (not cotton-wool), and placed, upside down, in a bottle of spirit. Labels to be placed inside the tubes are best written with Indian ink, and allowed to dry before immersion in the spirit.