126 DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING 



and the whole ckister of fiowers and fruit, as well as a leaf, may- 

 be simply dried in the air, and afterwards packed in boxes for 

 transportation. 



The greater number of cryptogamic plants may be dried in the 

 common way, such mosses as grow in tufts being separated by the 

 hand. But both mosses and lichens, as they can at any future time 

 be expanded by damping, may be dried by the traveller without 

 pressure, and put up, either each species separately or several 

 together, in small canvas or paper bags, carefully marking the 

 place of growth and the date when gathered. 



If the fruits of plants are of a small size so as to be preserved 

 in a herbarium, they should be gathered with the leaves and branches 

 as are the flowers ; if of a large size, they should be kept separate. 



Dry fruits demand no care, except that those which split into 

 valves should be tied round with a little packthread. 



Pulpy fruits are only to be preserved in spirits, [or in formalin 

 diluted with from five to ten parts of water]. In all cases the separate 

 fruits, whether dry or preserved in a fluid, should have a number 

 attached to them, referring to the flowering specimens of the plant. 

 Seeds, whether for examination or intended to be sown, should be 

 gathered perfectly ripe, put up in brown paper bags, and kept dry 

 in a box. 



With the specimens, fruits and seeds, there should be slips of 

 paper, on which are to be written the uses, native names, and 

 general appearance of the plant, whether herbaceous, a shrub, or 

 tree, its sensible qualities, and the colour and form of the flowers ; 

 its situation, if dry or damp, the nature of the soil, the elevation 

 above sea-level, and the date when gathered. 



As soon as a suflicient number of specimens are collected, no time 

 should be lost in transporting them to their place of destination, 

 since, in warm climates especially, they are liable to the attacks of 

 insects. These attacks, which are often completely destructive of 

 the specimens, may in many cases be prevented by pitching the 

 boxes, and by putting in them, or in each parcel, cotton dipped in 

 petroleum, spirits of turpentine, or small pieces of camphor [or 

 naphthaline], and the captain of the vessel should be particularly 

 requested to keep them in a dry or airy part of the ship. 



