6 PREFACE. 
When the specimen figured is taken from any other source, it 
will be duly noted :—and as one of the Author’s chief objects in 
undertaking the work is to enrich the botanical ‘‘ Treasury,” of 
which be has the charge, he here solicits from all residents in 
South Africa, and from all who have friends resident there, dried 
specimens in aid of his undertaking. Such collections will be 
gratefully acknowledged and recorded, and if the specimens are 
sent duly numbered, names will be returned to the contributor, 
who, by keeping a duplicate set, with corresponding numbers, 
may easily acquire a botanical knowledge of the plants he has 
collected ; and thus increase his interest in the pursuit, and pos- 
sibly add to his fame. 
The following short directions explain the process of drying 
specimens for the Herbarium :— 
SHORT DIRECTIONS FOR DRYING BOTANICAL SPECIMENS. 
1. A botanical specimen should be, as much as possible, an epitome of the 
species which it represents. To be perfect, it should have root, stem, leaves, 
flowers (both open and in bud), and fruit (both young and mature), It is not 
always, however, possible to gather such dnc epeciietts ; but the collector 
should aim at completeness. , 
Broken fragments, such as leaves without flowers, or flowers without leaves, are 
of comparatively little use, their identification, if accomplished, generally giving 
more trouble than the result obtained is worth; and this trouble may be avoided 
by attention to the above and the three following rules. 
2. All small plants, not exceeding 15 inches in height, should be plucked 
up by the roots, the whole plant forming a single specimen; or, if a many- 
stemmed plant, or one much branched near the base, and which if dried whole 
would make too dense a mass of branches or stems, it may be divided, at the 
origin of the branches, into several specimens. 
3. If the plant to be dried be of greater length than 15 inches, and if it be 
thought desirable—either from the lower leaves differing from the upper, or 
from the branches being long and naked—to preserve the stem unbroken, the 
specimen may be folded in lengths of 15inches. This is often done with Grasses, 
Sedges, and Ferns ; and should be done in the cases of all long-stemmed, lax- 
leaved herbaceous, and with tall bulbous plants, in order to preserve an indication 
of their habit. 
4. Herbaceous plants of large size, and specimens of the branches of shrubs 
and trees, must be broken into pieces, say 10-15 inches long, the length vary- 
ing with the nature or ramifications of the plant. The object is to preserve 
as much of the peculiar aspect of the plant as is possible. 
5. At least a dozen specimens of each plant should (when practicable) be 
gathered, for the purpose of exchanging with other botanists. A collector can 
