[NHCOLL-L:633] Compact Storage, Bail-top jars

[Ross MacCulloch]

The thoughts expressed in recent posts about proper and improper use of manual compactors can be applied more broadly.  Even in our uncompacted collection, only trusted people are permitted to fetch their own specimens.  Most visitors are given a spot in the lab and the required specimens are brought to them.   If our collection were to be compacted, we'd be very concerned about allowing the compactors to be operated by anyone other than staff.

Most of our wet collection is in jars with plastic screw-on lids, with maybe 5-10% in bail-top (glass top) jars.  Two very subjective observations: 1) evaporation from the bail-top jars is much less than from the screw-top jars, and 2) even old, deteriorated rubber seals are an effective barrier to evaporation in bail-top jars.  Often a seal will fall apart as a jar is opened.  The fluid level in the jar, however, will still be high.  In most cases the seal, even though it has hardened and is no longer rubbery, continues to do its job as long as the jar is not opened.  Granted, seals on undisturbed jars occasionally fall apart, but these occurrences are rare (in our collection anyway; but we don't have the thousands of bail-top jars that many of you have).



Ross D. MacCulloch
Assistant Curator, Herpetology
Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Biology
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 2C6