THE 



FLORICULTURAL CABINET, 



OCTOBER 1st, 1836. 



PART I. 

 ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



ARTICLE I.— DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING PLANTS. 



BY A LADY. 



It is unnecessary to enumerate all the advantages resulting from the 

 possession of a collection of preserved plants, as they can be fully 

 appreciated only by a person who has made considerable progress in 

 the study of Botany. But the beginner requires to be informed, 

 that nothing can more materially aid him in his endeavours to be- 

 come familiar with the objects which vegetation presents to his view, 

 than such a collection, (o which he can at all times refer, either for 

 refreshing his memory, or for instituting a more minute examination 

 than he had previously made. Plants are generally preserved by 

 drying, and a collection of this kind is called a Hortus siccus or 

 Herbarium. Various methods are in use for drying plants, but the 

 following, being among the most simple and efficacious, and attended 

 with little difficulty, is here preferred. 



The articles necessary for the accomplishment of the object in 

 view are, a quantity of smooth, soft paper, of large size (16 quires 

 perhaps) ; eight boards of the same size, about an inch thick, of hard 

 wood; four iron weights, or pieces of lead, two of them about forty 

 pounds weight, the others half that number. Or in place of these 

 weights a number of clean bricks may be used, or in short any 

 heavy bodies of convenient form. Along with these articles, a bota- 

 nical box is necessary. This box is made of tin, and varies in size, 

 from nine inches to two feet in length, according to the taste and 

 avidity of the collector. 



In gathering plants for this purpose, such as are smaller than the 

 size of the paper are to be taken up roots and all. In many cases, 

 portions only of plants can be preserved, on account of their size, and 

 then the most essential parts are to be selected, including always the 

 flowers. Plants to be preserved are to be gathered in dry weather, 

 and immediately deposited in the tin box, which prevents their be- 



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