10 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
this continued till they are perfectly dry; some require a 
week, others much longer, but experience will soon enable 
the young botanist to know when a plant is ready for the 
Hortus Siccus. When it is thoroughly dry, it should be 
laid on a clean sheet of paper, and with little straps of 
gummed paper, * secured in the position most desirable. 
The class and order ought to be written at the top of the 
sheet, and the Latin and English names, with the locality 
and date at the bottom; and when many specimens have 
been procured, they may be arranged in classes for the con- 
venience of reference. 
A collection will thus be formed which will, at all events, 
serve to remind the possessor from time to time of the names 
and appearance of the plants already procured. If the 
youthful student has only been able to determine satisfactorily 
the names of thirty or forty plants in the course of the first 
year, out of several hundred which may have been gathered, 
without doubt the task will be thought worth pursuing the 
following season. 
* Gummed paper may be kept ready for use, which is more convenient than 
using fresh gum every time. A sheet of thin writing paper covered with 
rather thick gum, and dried, will last a considerable time, and the little 
straps may be cut when wanted. 
