COLLECTING GRASSES. 71 



the writer has found it best to separate kindred species by some 

 others which are quite different. It is very natural and seems 

 quite desirable to the systematic worker to want his Poas all in 

 adjoining plats, and his Fescues in other adjoining plats, but if 

 he can succeed in keeping them separate when thus planted, he 

 will do better than the writer has ever been able to do with his 

 twelve or more years of experience. Another word of advice: 

 plant the seeds in rows, never broadcast, as this will much 

 facilitate weeding when the plants are yet small. No agros- 

 tologist will be satisfied to study mere dried specimens, as they 

 will not reveal many points to best advantage, but for permanent 

 use at all seasons of the year, the mode adopted in the herbarium 

 will be the best for preserving grasses. To save time in arrang- 

 ing thoughts for the following account in reference to preserving 

 grasses, the writer has taken hints from an article of L. H. 

 Hoysradt in the bulletin of the Torry Botanical Club for 1878. 



Have a tin vase made of oval cylindrical shape, 17 inches long, 

 four by six inches wide. It is provided with a light strap to 

 throw over the shoulder, and so attached to the box near the 

 front narrow side so as to have the lid open from the person when 

 hung on the shoulder. The lid opens nearly the whole length of 

 one of the flat sides, 15 by 4 inches, with inch lap, made 

 to fit as tight as possible, and fastens with a simple spring catch. 



Procure some thin, unsized paper, without printing on it, in 

 the form of folded sheets, about 11 by 17 inches. A poor quality 

 of printing paper is suitable. The driers are half sheets 12 by 

 18 inches and are thick and free from sizing. The specimens 

 are left in the thin sheets through all changes of driers, till 

 they are thoroughly dried. Change the driers every 12 hours 

 or oftener at first, and submit them to fire heat or direct sun- 

 light. Press the pile with a weight of fifty to seventy pounds. 

 Several pieces of thin board 12 by 18 inches will be needed. 



Always preserve some of the roots, lower leaves and rhizomas, 



