176 The Ottawa Naturalist. [November 



place. The specimens may be attached to the mounting paper 

 either by narrow strips of paper neatly stuck over the stems, or 

 with liquid glue placed at several points on the firm parts of the 

 underside of the specimen. The different sheets should be placed 

 together in their botanical families in accordance with some 

 recognized list. The " Catalogue of Canadian Plants" by Pro- 

 fessor John Macoun, our highest authority, is universally followed 

 in Canada. This catalogue can be procured from the Geological 

 Survey Department at Ottawa. The sheets should always be kept 

 separate and for a reference collection for a school, after being dis- 

 played at the local exhibition, should be carefully put away in a 

 neat box made a little larger than the size of the mounting sheets. 

 Specimens of plants should never be put in bound books, nor 

 should the sheets be caught together at the edges, with cords as 

 is sometimes done. In both of these ways, the specimens are easily 

 broken, there is no way of interpolating in their proper places 

 species subsequently collected, it is inconvenient to examine and 

 compare the species, and, when the collection is required for an 

 exhibition, it cannot be displayed in an attractive manner, which 

 is an important point with the exhibition authorities. 



In order that these collections may be of the greatest educa- 

 tional value, the specimens should be gathered as much as pos- 

 sible by the students themselves, and the name of the collector 

 should appear on the label. The teacher should merely help in 

 identifying and comparing the plants with related forms and also 

 in showing how to prepare the collection for exhibition. 



Collections of the seeds of weeds make an attractive and use- 

 ful exhihit. Owing to the good work of the Seed Branch of the 

 Department of Agriculture under the direction of Mr. G. H. Clark, 

 great interest has been recently developed in recognizing the 

 various weed-seed impurities in crop seeds offered for sale. Far- 

 mers are now alive to the importance of knowing the appearance 

 of the seeds of these enemies which in the past they so often 

 carried on to their land, mixed with the seed they sowed for crop. 

 All of the weed seeds have characteristic shapes, colours and 

 markings, by which after a little practice they are just as easily 

 recognized as the crop seeds among which they occur. In making 

 collections of weed seeds, the appearance of those of the worst 

 pests is soon learnt, and the boys and girls of Canada have a 

 grand opportunity of using their sharp eyes to the advantage of 

 their fathers, by examining the seeds bought for sowing and find- 

 ing out whether any weed seeds are included. 



Seed collections should be exhibited in small bottles, all of the 

 same size, neatly labelled in the same place on each bottle. Well 

 cleaned seed, as well as some in the husk should be shown. 



