On November 14, 2001, Fred wrote: I've just totalled the boxes of material remaining: ...so how far along are we? By both measures, about a quarter of the
fluid-preserved stuff is fully processed for the winter. Another 40% has
been handled in a preliminary way, and about an equal amount remains to
be looked at. Because of various qualifications these numbers aren't
precise, and the number of boxes will diminish as material is packed
more tightly after it's processed. I'm boxing up the dry stuff and stashing it in neat-but-random order in
the upstairs bedroom of Pipers house, so the winter of curating (me
slaving over the hot computer, Eric actually handling specimens) will be
like one long Christmas morning - with each box an unpredictable
selection of bones, shells, or Carleton invertebrates. Then after
identifying, cataloguing, and boxing, we'll put the specimens on trays
and pack them away - hopefully much more compactly than they're
presently stored, until the building is ready for them. Return to the Magick Canoe page.
In the Museum Room of the barn:
fluid-preserved, unknown preservative: 27 boxes
dry specimens: 32 boxes
In the storage area of the barn:
full strength isopropyl: 10 boxes
'40%' isopropyl to be topped up: 28 boxes
In the house:
fluid-preserved, unknown preservative: 12 boxes
ethanol: 2 boxes
dry specimens: 5 boxes
In the tent being processed:
fluid-preserved, verified unknown preservative: 25 boxes
dessicated fluid-preserved: 1 box
formalin: 1 box
ethanol: 1 box
In Pipers House:
fluid-preserved, verified unknown preservative: 2 boxes
fluid-preserved, unknown preservative: 5 boxes
formalin: 9 boxes
dessicated fluid-preserved: 7 boxes
ethanol: 3 boxes
dry specimens: 112 boxes.
TOTALS:
indifferent to frost:
(dry: 149 boxes - 64% upstairs in Pipers House)
full strength isopropyl: 10 boxes
to be protected from frost:
ethanol (unknown concentration): 6 boxes
formalin: 10 boxes
dessicated fluid-preserved: 8 boxes
processing completed: 34 boxes (23%)
segregated for further processing:
'40%' isopropyl to be topped up: 28 boxes
verifed unknown preservative: 30
58 boxes (40%)
to be processed:
unknown preservative: 54 boxes (37%)
total fluid preserved: 146 boxes (=ca 2200 jars)
FPC (fluid-preserved collection) numbers assigned so far:
564 = 25% of estimated number of jars.
NOTE: These figures have changed drastically over the past 7 days as volunteers have worked to process the fluid preserved materials before cold weather makes it too difficult to work outdoors.