AN EXPERIENCE IN HERBARIUM MAKING, 33 



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water is allowed to run over them for several miuutes to 



remove the salt. 



latifi 



Hahet 



some orchids and liliacious plants, and Sedums can be pre- 

 pared much better and more quickly if they are spread out daily 

 in the sun for a few minutes, when the driers are changed. 

 This exposure does not render them brittle unless continued 

 too long, and it improves their color greatly. In this way I 

 have succeeded in making good specimens of Trillum, din- 

 ar ia, etc., in a few days. I have also found it 

 useful in the case of many fruiting specimens. Dipping in hot 

 water I have not found advisable. It enables one^ to make 

 pretty specimens, and to dry them quickly, but it almost 

 inevitably obscures the botanical characters. Some plants I 

 have utterly failed to convert into even passable specimens; 

 one such is Eriodium moschatum. I have gathered the 

 plant in flower and it has grown and ripened its fruit under 

 the press. Very hot driers, as hot as the sun can make them, 

 I have found to be of great service, but if used they should 

 be changed twice at least in the twenty-four hours, for under 

 the influence of the heat, fermentation causes the plants to 

 blacken if left too long between the same papers. By fre- 

 quent changing with hot driers even the green color of 

 willows can often be preserved. Hot driers without corre- 

 sponding frequency of changing are, for most plants, worse 



than cold ones. 



One thing I have learnt about obtaining good specimens is 



not always to take the first plant seen. Where one plant of a 

 species is found there is in all probability more, and by a 

 little search it is generally possible to find perfect specimens. 

 When on an extended trip it is often desirable to prepare 

 specimens without the aid of driers. This can be done for 

 most plants. The plants must be spread out m their sheets 

 two or three times a day and, after each exposure, placed 

 between stiff cardboards and tightly strapped together. 

 Specimens prepared in this manner are apt to be a little 

 wrinkled, but, when made in dry weather they retain their 

 color perfectly. 



