THE PLANT WORLD 85 



press, it may indicate that this trouble is not experienced in the north, 

 but I know it to be worse in Virginia than in Florida. The mite, how- 

 ever, which seems to be harmless in northern herbaria, gives me a great 

 deal of trouble. TMiere mites find much fresh pollen they multiply 

 rapidly and soon destroy the flowers. They also eat fleshy fruit speci- 

 mens, especially of Eosaceae and Ericaceae. I never fully protected my 

 fresh collections from them till last year, when I kept my bundles of 

 fresh specimens in a tight closet with plenty of naphthahne. I strewed 

 " moth balls " over the floor, and scattered others, after being crushed, 

 among the specimens. Packing in chests or tight boxes vrith. naphtha- 

 line is still better. 



I will now describe my method of poisoning specimens, as it differs 

 materially from that described by Professor Bailey. He says that if 

 specimens be effectualh^ poisoned, " discoloration always results ;" also 

 that a brush with metal fastenings " discolors the specimens;" that there 

 is need of wearing gloves to protect the fingers; that after apj)lying the 

 sublimate the specimens need to be dried between papers under a light 

 weight. Now I have poisoned tens of thousands of specimens, and 

 none of them was ever touched by insects afterward, though always ex- 

 posed to them. And they all looked just the same after poisoning as 

 before, except for occasional slight traces of the sublimate. I never 

 pressed any after poisoning, and never injured my fingers, for the good 

 reason that I do not touch the specimens. My outfit for jDoisoning is 

 even simpler than that for collecting, consisting simply of a flat, tin- 

 bound brush an inch wide, a long bone knitting needle and an alcohoHc 

 solution of corrosive sublimate. An aqueous solution "will not answer, 

 and even if waste of so expensive a liquid as alcohol be not considered, 

 such methods as dipping, flowing and spraying are objectionable. 



With a pile of specimens before me, the long and limber needle for 

 holding down specimens in my left hand and a wet brush in the right, 

 I commence by poisoning the upi:)er side of the thick parts — roots, 

 stems, flowers and fruit, mostly by light and quick touches, but taking 

 pains to soak heads of flowers, and when the brush is nearly empty I 

 draw it lightly over the leaves. Keeping on in this way all the sheets 

 are presently in a pile at my right, in reverse order. Then, -uith straw- 

 boards at top and bottom of the pile, I turn the whole over and go to 

 work on the other side of the specimens. Wlien all the sheets are in a 

 pile at mj^ right again, I turn it over and all the specimens are right 

 side up and in their original order. Sometimes, especially with Com- 

 positae, I use a weak and strong solution, with a brush for each. I do 

 not poison grasses and sedges, though aware that in badly infested 

 plants a bug or worm may sometimes be found in a thick culm. The 

 only cryptogams I poison are fungi and Isoetes. 



