46 THREE KINGDOMS. 



By all means take a note-book in which to jot down 

 memoranda of various sorts. Few persons can trust 

 the memory implicitly concerning the occupations and 

 collections of a day. Field-notes carefully made are 

 often of more value to others than to the person im- 

 mediately concerned. Moreover, the taking of them 

 inculcates a useful lesson of painstaking observation, 

 terse expression, and neatness of style. Nothing 

 should be done in a slovenly way. Sketches, well 

 made, and illustrative either of landscapes or plants, 

 are a commendable addition to such notes. A set of 

 such note-books, kept through a series of years, be- 

 comes, indeed, a diary of delightful facts. Through- 

 out life, and in periods of despondency, the records 

 will recall scenes of inexpressible joy. It is well to 

 provide one's self with a pocket-map of the county or 

 region to be visited. On this can be recorded the 

 roads, forests, hills, springs, marshes, etc. The geo- 

 logical formation, too, can be put in by colors, and 

 even the favorite haunts of the rarer flowers can be 

 indicated. 



It is surprising how, by this means, a person will 

 acquire a nearly perfect knowledge of the features of 

 a district. If your state or county is a large one, cut 

 up the map into portions, and paste these on cloth. 



If you have an eye to the inner man and creature- 

 comforts, take a drinking-cup and provide a luncheon. 

 In these preliminary directions we have cleared the 

 way for the consideration of the really technical ap- 

 paratus required. There are two modes of collecting 

 plants, both of which possess certain advantages. We 

 find different collectors wedded to one or the other, 

 and, indeed, prepared to do valorous battle for the 

 one they have chosen. Our own attitude is con- 

 servative. Sometimes we try one place, sometimes 

 another. It depends somewhat upon the occasion 



