SUGGESTIONS. 



183 



So long as the ground is not covered with snow 

 there will always be something to find on dead 

 leaves, rotten sticks, &c, when there is not a green 

 leaf to be seen. But these belong to a section to 

 which we have studiously avoided all reference in 

 the foregoing pages. 



General instructions will not always apply; but 

 in most instances, the lowest and earliest leaves, 

 in which vitality appears to decline, will be most 

 likely to suffer from the attacks of fungi. This 

 rule must not be too stringently applied ; the species 

 of jEcidium, for instance, will generally be found 

 on vigorous green leaves. 



Having found a plant infected with some rust 

 or brand, and by means of a pocket lens assured 

 yourself that it is such, although the power is 

 insufficient to tell what it is, collect as many leaves 

 as you are likely to require ; place them flat one 

 upon the other, to prevent their curling up at the 

 edges, should the weather be hot, and yourself far 

 from home, and lay them in your box ; or if you 

 should take in preference an old book with stiff 

 covers, place them separately between the leaves 

 of your book, and they will be in still better con- 

 dition, if you desire to preserve them. Arrived at 

 home with the results of your trip, proceed at once 

 to lay them between folds of blotting-paper, submit 

 them to a gentle pressure, and change the papers 

 daily until your leaves are dry, not forgetting to 

 keep a scrap of paper with each collection, stating 



