AND PRESERVING PLANTS. 127 



Specimens of the woods of from 6 to 8 inches in length, the 

 entire round of the trunk or branch of small, and segments from 

 centre to circumference of the larger kinds, in both cases with the 

 bark, should also be preserved — not only of the moi-e remarkable 

 trees, but also of the woody climbers, which often exhibit peculiarities 

 of structure highly interesting to the botanist. When s^Decimens of 

 woods are preserved, they should be marked with numbers cori-e- 

 sponding with the flowering branches of the tree in the collection of 

 specimens ; and when flowers cannot be obtained, a small branch 

 with leaves or fruits should always be taken. 



Gums, resins, and other remarkable products should also be 

 collected, their uses if known noted, and reference made by numbers 

 to the plants they belong to. 



Chaeace^. 



The most generally convenient method of collecting Characese is 

 by means of a drag and line. The drag consists of a bulb of lead 

 about from | to 1 lb. in weight, with three or more hooks of strong 

 galvanized iron wire. The drags with three hooks used by anglers 

 for fishing up lines answer the purpose well. The line should be of 

 stout water-cord about g inch thick, and twenty yards will generally 

 be found sufficient. Large pieces of water can be much more 

 satisfactorily explored for Characese by means of a boat than from 

 the shore, the plants being often confined to a particular part or 

 depth of the lake or pond. In small or shallow pieces of water it is 

 desirable to collect specimens with a walking-stick, or, better still, by 

 hand, as by these means whole plants with the roots can be obtained, 

 while a drag is apt to break up the moi-e brittle species. 



Care should be taken in the case of the dioecious species to collect 

 both sexes, and collectors should not content themselves with getting 

 those specimens only which grow at the margin of a pond or other 

 piece of water, these being often small and stunted and sometimes 

 sterile. Most of the Characea3 fruit in the summer; but a few arrive 

 at maturity in the spring. 



It is undesirable to carry the specimens loose in the vasculum. If 

 put as straight as possible when collected, and spread in a thin layer 



