3] 2 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



HERBARIUM. 



There are two generally accepted ways of keeping a herbarium; 

 one is to place the classified plants in neat Avhite folders, putting each 

 species in a separate sheet and all the species of a genus into a larger 

 cover, usually of manila paper, and called a "genus cover." This 

 is by far the' easiest and most practical method for the botanist who 

 collects for pleasure, or for the commissioner whose collection finds 

 its value in its ready accessibility, and not in its beauty or rare 

 species. To prevent the specimens from sliding out of the folders 

 the species covers are usually placed with their openings opposite that 

 of the genus cover. 



The other method is to mount each specimen on a separate sheet of 

 glazed paper, bristol board, size ll^'x 15''. This is the method used 

 in all the large herbariums in the United States and has obvious 

 advantages over the other where rare specimens are to be cared for. 



A botanist's collection always consists of two departments: the 

 herbarium proper and the duplicates. The former he arranges in 

 strict botanical order, sees to it that it contains a perfect specimen 

 fully represented of every plant he has ever collected, and adds to it 

 as many other plants as he is able to obtain through the process of 

 exchanging, or in any other w^ay. The latter contains a large number 

 of specimens of each of the rarer plants of his local flora, and even- 

 tually he will add to it other rare plants obtained from other sources. 

 It does not aim at completeness, but simply to supply a foreign 

 demand and serve as a means of increasing and enriching his herb- 

 arium proper. As this approaches completion, therefore, the other 

 is reduced in volume. 



Permanent Labels. — After the plants are mounted they are ready 

 for the permanent labels. These are affixed to the lower right hand 

 corner (see Fig. 66), and can either be printed forms or blanks bearing 

 only the collector's name at the top. The labels should not be pasted 

 down solid, as they will be apt to w^arp and wrinkle the sheet. It 

 is best to gum the upper edge only, and thus secure a perfectly smooth 

 finished sheet. 



The plants are now ready for filing and should be entered, as stated 

 on a previous page, in genus covers, numbered and filed in perfect 

 order. It matters little whether the order is numerical or based on 

 classification, but the arrangement should be sj'^steraatic, as other- 

 wise the collection is of little value. 



Cabinets or drawers can be used for filing, according to the taste 

 or convenience of the collector. Personally the writer prefers a 

 pigeonhole cabinet with glass or wooden doors. The pigeonholes 

 should be just wide enough to receive the genus sheet and about 8 

 inches high. A very considerable herbarium can be filed in this way 

 in a small space. The cabinets can be built as high as desired and 

 need not be over 18 inches deep. 



