DIEECTIONS FOR COLLECTING PLANTS. 



31 



buckle with a fiat tongue and corrugated edge is more satisfactory 

 than a knither strap. SoUd board presses have been used, but they 

 are more hkely to cause a sweating and blackening of the plants on 

 the outside of the bundle. 



SPECIAL DIRECTIONS FOR PREPARING AND DRYING PLANTS. 



Herhaceous plants. — All herbaceous specimens (i. e., those without 

 a woody stem) that are not over 3^ feet tall should be collected 

 entire, including root, stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit when available. 



j=?>^ 



Fig. 4.— a specimen placed between thin sheets, showing tlie metliod of folding a tall plant before pressing. 



Wlien the stem of a plant is too long to go into the sheets it should 

 be folded into 12 or 15 inch lengths, beginning at the root end to 

 fold (fig. 4). The folds may be held together by strips of thick paper 

 about 1 by 3 inches, with a slit in the middle, the folded ends being 

 inserted through the slit. When herbaceous specimens are over 3J 

 feet tall it is rarely necessary to collect the whole plant. The height 

 of the plant should be noted on the folder or in a notebook and placed 

 on the label of the plant when it is mounted . Many tall specimens are 

 too thick at the base to be collected entu"e. In such cases a piece 

 nil-. 12*;] 



