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384 OF MAKING AN HERBARIUM. 



but when we have the works of Nature before us, we 

 can invesiigatc them for ourselves, pursuing any train of 

 inquiry to its utmost extent, nor arc we liable to be mis- 

 led by the errors or misconceptions of others. A good 

 practical botanist must be educated among the tvild 

 scenes of nature, while a finished theoretical one requires 

 the additional assistance of gardens and books, to which 

 must be superadded the frequent use of a good herba- 

 rium. When plants are well dried, the origin.il forms 

 and positions of even their minutest parts, though not 

 their colours, may at any time be restored by immersion 

 in hot water. By this means the productions of the 

 most distant and various countries, such as no gardea 

 could possibly supply, are brought together at once un- 

 der our eyes, at any season of the year. If these be as- 

 sisted with drawings and descriptions, nothing less than 

 an actual survey of the whole vegetable world, in a state 

 of nature, could excel such a store of information. 



Some persons recommend the preservation of speci- 

 mens in weak spirits of wine, and this mode is by far the 

 most eligible for such as are very juicy. But it totally 

 destroys their colours, and often renders their parts less 

 fit for examination than the above-mentioned m')de. It 

 is besides incommodious for frequent study, and a very- 

 expensive and bulky way of miking an herbarium. 



The greater part of plants dry with facility between 

 the leaves of books, or other paper, the smoother the 

 better. If there be plenty of paper, they often dry best 

 without shifting ; but if the specimens are crowded^ 

 they must be taken out frequently, and the paper dried 

 before they are replaced. Tiie great point to be attend- 



