1 60 COLLECTING 



Arrange the specimens on the sheets so that they form a steady pile 

 without lumps in the middle. Place a lattice upon every five inches of 

 specimens. When all are ready place in the press and draw the straps 

 as tight as possible, or better, place about 10 Ibs. weight upon it. 

 Tighten the straps as the plants shrink. 



Change drying papers at least once daily: dry used paper in the 

 sun or by the fire ; use warm driers where possiblr . See that petals, 

 &c. do not stick to the paper: if necessary put slips of tissue paper 

 under. 



In changing the papers, put the outer specimens inside, so that all 

 shall dry evenly. Drying should be as rapid as possible to prevent loss 

 of colour, blackening, &c. 



Fully dried plants no longer feel cold on the cheek, and are stiff and 

 brittle. 



Dried specimens should be poisoned by a brief immersion in i % 

 solution of mercuric chloride in alcohol. They should then be dried in 

 the air, mounted (with glue) or laid between sheets of paper, and tied 

 up in wax-cloth with a little naphthalin to keep out insects. 



Material for subsequent microscopic examination or for museums 

 must usu. be preserved in alcohol. Cut into small portions, attach label 

 (best of zinc written on with solution of platinic chloride, but paper and 

 pencil or Indian ink will do temporarily) ; place in methylated spirit for 

 a few days, wrapped in muslin, and finally preserve in large tin. A few 

 inches of spirit at the bottom, enough to keep all specimen* moist when 

 the tin is soldered, will suffice for most material. Specimens for embryo- 

 logical, delicate histological, cytological, and other investigations, and 

 delicate plants or organs, must be separately preserved from the fir t in 

 absolute alcohol in bottles or tubes. Labels should be put inside these. 

 Contents of bottles may be written on the ground surface of the stoppers, 

 so as to be legible through the neck. 



Museum material may also be preserved in formalin (i part of ordinary 

 solution to 10 or more of water). Some special preservatives, e.g. picric 

 and chromic acids, are used in special cases. 



Specimens illustrative of economic uses of plants and their products 

 should be collected in less known districts, e.g. samples of gums, resins, 

 caoutchoucs, oils, fibres, timbers (portions of trunks, or slabs 8x4x4 

 inches), food-products, drugs, dyes, tans, &c. In all cases the exact 

 origin should be verified, and herbarium specimens taken, bearing 

 numbers to correspond with those placed on the products. 



From less known countries, endeavour to bring back living seeds 

 (ripe, well dried, dry in canvas bags, or packed in charcoal in tins if to 

 be long kept), bulbs and tubers (gathered when dry and with withered 

 leaves), succulent plants (gathered dry and loosely packed), living 

 plants (planted in earth in Wardian cases or sometimes in bamboo pots, 

 if possible some weeks before moving). Cuttings may sometimes be 

 brought in oiled silk wrappers; pseudobulbs in boxes with air-holes; 

 tree lerns with the fronds removed, and a ball of earth round the root. 



RECORDING. The following hints are worth noting. 



Make all notes immediately upon observation of the facts ; never 

 trust to memory, nor delay recording. 



Make all notes about individual specimens upon detachable sheets, 



