INTRODUCTION TO BOTANY. XX1x 
collector should aim at completeness. Fragments, such as leaves without 
flowers, or flowers without leaves, are of comparatively little use. 
186. All small plants, not exceeding 15 inches in height, should be 
plucked up by the roots, the whole plant forming a single specimen; or, 
if a many-stemmed plant, or one much branched near the base, and which 
if dried whole would make too dense a mass of branches or stems, it may 
be divided, at the origin of the branches, into several specimens. 
187. If the plant to be dried be of greater length than 15 inches, and if 
it be thought desirable—either from the lower leaves differing from the 
upper, or from the branches being long and naked—to preserve the stem 
unbroken, the specimen may be folded in lengths of 15 inches. This is 
often done with Grasses, Sedges, and Ferns ; and should be done in the 
cases of all long-stemmed, lax-leaved herbaceous, and with tall bulbous 
plants, in order to preserve an indication of their habit. 
188. Herbaceous plants of large size, and specimens of the branches of 
shrubs and trees must be broken into pieces, say 10-15 inches long, the 
length varying with the nature or ramifications of the plant. The object 
is to preserve as much of the peculiar aspect of the plant as is possible. 
189. At /east a dozen specimens of each plant should (when practicable) 
be gathered, for the purpose of exchanging with other botanists. A col- 
lector can scarcely have too many duplicates, especially when his explora- 
tions are made in a little-frequented district. Many collect much more 
extensively. 
190. The collector should be provided with :— 
1. A quantity (at his discretion) of any stout, coarse, unsized paper, 
of uniform dimensions, say 12 inches by 18. Old newspapers 
answer the purpose, and common packing-paper, whity-brown, 
or brown, is most excellent. Blotting-paper is much too tender 
and expensive. 
2. A smaller quantity of very thin, unglazed paper, or chemist’s 
Jiltering-paper, for drying plants with delicate corollas (see 200). 
3. Several flat, perforated boards, the size of the paper. Open 
wooden frames, with cross-bars, or frames of strong wire-work 
lattice, are better than boards, as they permit a freer evapora- 
tion. 
4. A light portfolio of pasteboard, covered with calico, fitted up with 
12-20 leaves of strong brown paper, furnished with a strap and 
buckle for closing, and another for slinging over the shoulders, 
is better and more portable than the old-fashioned collecting- 
box. The specimens, as gathered, are placed between the 
leaves, and may be crowded together, if not left too long 
without sorting. 
5. A bag or haversack is also useful for collecting rigid-leaved or 
shrubby plants that might injure those in the portfolio. 
191. If the plants be gathered in dry weather, no time should be lost in 
placing them under pressure ; but they may be preserved for a day or two, 
if sprinkled with water, and enclosed in a tin box in a cool situation. Ticket 
the specimens, and add notes made whilst collecting. 
192. On returning from the field, sort the specimens into those that are 
Jleshy or juicy, and those that are of a drier nature, and dry them in 
separate bundles. If mixed together, the former are very apt to injure 
the latter, and to retard their drying. 
193. The drying process is as follows :—Take one of the flat boards or 
frames, and lay three or four sheets of the drying-paper upon it. On 
these lay specimens, placing them as closely as they will lie without over- 
lapping each other. Cover the specimens with a similar layer of paper ; 
and on this lay other specimens; repeating alternately a layer of paper 
