HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



i35 



To collect flowers for an herbarium, all that is neces- 

 sary is a tin box and a trowel, though some collectors 

 prefer to carry a portfolio containing porous paper 

 and to put the plant under pressure on the spot. This 

 has the advantage of securing that the flower shall 

 lose none of its freshness while being carried home ; 

 but it is a cumbrous and troublesome plan, and it 

 will probably be found, in the case of most flowers, 

 that if they are brought home in a biscuit-tin, and 

 the roots perhaps placed in water to freshen them up 

 if necessary before pressing, that they will appear as 

 good as need be. It will nevertheless be found very 

 convenient to carry a small pocket-book with some 

 porous-paper leaves, in which to preserve at once 

 some blossoms which will require it. For instance, 

 it will be found impossible to bring home an entire 

 Dandelion or Bindweed without the blossom closing 

 up ; and the corolla of the Germander Speedwell, the 

 bright little blue flower often called Bird's-eye or Cat's- 

 eye, that looks so pretty and lasts so long in the 

 summer hedgerows, will almost certainly be knocked 

 off before the plant can be pressed at home. In such 

 cases these parts must be put under pressure separately 

 from the rest of the plant, and at once. Indeed, 

 such a sleepy plant as the Tragopogon, or John-go-to- 

 bed-at-noon, almost requires to be caught with guile. 

 Go in the morning when it is open and press the 

 blossom in the porous-paper book before detaching it 

 from the stalk. Some entire plants, from their delicate 

 and brittle nature, had better be pressed on the spot ; 

 as, for instance, the pale-green Moschatel, the stalks of 

 which are almost sure to snap with the slightest rough 

 usage. Of course, when the roots have to be cleared 

 from much earth, especially if the earth is of a clayey 

 nature, it is absolutely necessary to bring the plant 

 home before doing anything with it. On the whole, 

 the tin box will be found preferable to the portfolio, 

 and the occasions on which the latter must be used 

 will soon be learnt by experience. Better than either, 

 because more convenient, is the regulation vasculum, 

 of japanned tin. 



For digging up the plants, since in most cases the 

 roots must be preserved, a trowel is generally recom- 

 mended. After a few of these have been broken by 

 rough usage in stiff soils, or spoilt by friends who 

 have borrowed them "just for once," they will pro- 

 bably be replaced by a small three-pronged fork, about 

 the same size as the trowel, but much more durable. 

 Even this, however, has its disadvantage, which will 

 be found out on trial. In selecting the specimens for 

 preservation, a little discrimination should be exer- 

 cised. It is best, perhaps, to take two plants of the 

 same kind and dry both, and afterwards choose the 

 best of the two for mounting. It is not advisable to 

 take more, unless they are somewhat inaccessible, or 

 unless, for other reasons, it should be difficult after- 

 wards to obtain more if required, as a large number 

 only fills up the box, takes up a great deal of room in 

 the press, and gives much unnecessary trouble in 



many ways. Choose, therefore, two plants which are 

 fairly developed, and which show, if possible, speci- 

 mens of all the kinds of leaves the plant may possess, 

 which have some blossoms fully open and others in 

 bud, and, in short, which are in all respects good 

 specimens of their kind. In some cases the leaves 

 are not up when the flower is open, as with the 

 Yellow Coltsfoot, which flowers in the early spring, 

 but whose leaves are not to be found until much later. 

 It is a mistake to choose too large a plant, under the 

 impression that it will look well ; a medium should 

 be aimed at in this matter, as in everything else. 

 Perhaps it is not unnecessary to say that rare plants 

 ought not to be exterminated. Persons who go about 

 hunting for rarities, and who take all they can lay 

 their hands on, are collectors only, not botanists. 

 Many of our uncommon ferns are daily becoming 

 rarer, and harder to be found by those who really 

 want to study them, because they are so diligently 

 sought after and dug up by collectors who only want 

 them to sell. My advice is, if you find a rarity, take 

 of it in moderation, and then, in the interests of 

 science, keep your own counsel as to its where- 

 abouts. 



In removing a plant, care must be taken not to 

 spoil the root, nor to injure the deaves that spring 

 from near the ground. It is often of great importance 

 that these latter should be kept intact, as they fre- 

 quently differ from the leaves which grow higher up 

 the stem, and are very useful in assisting to determine 

 the name of the species. With many plants, as is the 

 case with the Coltsfoot, the root will be almost sure 

 to break off sooner or later. Again, a complete Blue- 

 bell, bulb and all entire, will be a very good certificate 

 of perseverance for its possessor. The adhering earth 

 should be shaken off as far as possible without doing, 

 injury to the roots, and the rest carefully pulled off at 

 home, or removed by holding the root (only) under 

 a stream of water. 



The next thing ought to be to name the specimen ; 

 and if I could take for granted a little knowledge of 

 botany on the part of my readers, it would not be 

 very difficult to show in brief the easiest method of 

 arriving at the correct botanical and popular names 

 of most of our common wild-flowers. For those, how- 

 ever, who know nothing of botany, the best way is to 

 compare the flowers brought home with the illustra- 

 tions in some such work as Ann Pratt's " Wild- 

 Flowers," or John's "Flowers of the Field," or 

 Sowerby's "English Botany," or to obtain the help 

 of some botanical friend. At all events, you need 

 not despair of making good progress with your her- 

 barium, even if you do not know the names of all the 

 plants it contains, as these can generally be added 

 afterwards. 



In any case, proceed to dry your plants before 

 they lose their freshness. This is accomplished by 

 pressing them between porous paper. The best 

 paper for the purpose is, or used to be, made by 



