THE MONTHLY BULLETIN, 309 



"As regards shrubby plants and trees, the flower and leaf- 

 bearing twigs should be collected, and if the leaves vary on dif- 

 ferent parts of the plant the different forms should be collected. 

 Occasionally it is desirable to strip off a portion of the bark as a 

 distinctive part of the species in question. 



"The representative parts of every plant are flowers, fruit, 

 and leaves, and no specimen can be regarded as complete without 

 all these parts. Often, as in many Crucifer^, all these can be 

 found combined in the same specimen at once, but in most cases 

 it requires at least two separate collections and different times 

 in the season. When fruit can be found attached to the stem and 

 leaves, this is of course the preferable way, since it leaves no 

 possible doubt as to the identity of both. This should therefore 

 be done as long as the size of the fruit will permit, and is recom- 

 mended in the case of all acorns and even in hickory nuts. In the 

 case of larger fruits, such as the walnut (Juglans), the crab apple, 

 or the persimmon, the fruit can be collected separately.'' 



The length of a specimen should not be over 15 inches, as that is the 

 length of the mounting sheets. Grasses, reeds and other long plants 

 Avhich are easily bent can be folded to the proper length. This should 

 be done at the time they are put into the portfolio, and even when 

 placed in the vasculum they should be bent in the manner later 

 intended for pressing. 



IMany wiry herbs and shrubs can be bent to fit into the press, but 

 will not retain their bent position when released from the hand. Such 

 jilants can be managed by slipping the bent end through a slit piece 

 of paper. 



There is only one correct way to bend long specimens to fit the 

 herbarium sheet. Start with the root at the loAver left hand corner 

 of the sheet and make the first angle at the top of the sheet. The 

 second angle will then be made at the bottom and the plant should 

 form the letter N. If a third bend is necessary it should form the 

 letter M and so on. This method gives a neater appearance to speci- 

 mens than can otherwise be obtained. 



Care should be taken in removing roots. For this a small trowel 

 or a large knife is the best implement to use. Where it is impossible 

 to take the root, dig away the ground so as to examine a portion of 

 it and put a brief description in the notes. 



In collecting ferns save two or more leaves so that when mounted 

 both upper and loAver surfaces can be shown. 



Put plants in the vasculum or the field book as soon as possible, 

 in order to prevent wilting, and always with locality and field notes 

 attached. This is an important point. It is surprising how much 

 can be forgotten between field and laboratory. 



Algffi and other small water plants are better kept in a bottle as 

 they dry very rapidly and are hard to revive. 



3—17975 



