1XI1V INTRODUCTION. 



Chap. IV. Collection, Preservation, and Determination op Plants. 



224. Plants can undoubtedly bo most easily and satisfactorily examined when freshly 

 gathered. But time will rarely admit of this being done, and it is moreover desirable 

 to compare them with other plants previously observed or collected. Specimens must, 

 therefore, be selected for leisurely observation at home, and preserved for future refer- 

 ence. A collection of such specimens constitutes a Herbarium. 



225. A botanical Specimen, to be perfect, should have root, stem, leaves, flowers 

 (both open and in bud) and fruit (both young and mature). It is not, however, 

 always possible to gather such complete specimens, but the collector should aim at 

 completeness. Fragments, such as leaves without flowers, or flowers without leaves, 

 are of little or no use. 



226. If the plant is small (not exceeding 15 in.) or can be reduced to that length 

 by folding, the specimen should consist of the whole plant, including the principal part 

 of the root. If it be too large to preserve the whole, a good flowering branch should be 

 selected, with the foliage as low down as can be gathered with it ; and one or two of 

 the lower stem-leaves or radical leaves, if any, should be added, so as to preserve as 

 much as possible of the peculiar aspect of the plant. 



227. The specimens should be taken from healthy uninjured plants of a medium 

 size. Or if a specimen be gathered because it looks a little different from the majority 

 of those around it, apparently belonging to the same species, a specimen of the more 

 prevalent form should be taken from the same locality for comparison. 



228. For bringing the specimens home, a light portfolio of pasteboard, covered with 

 calico or leather, furnished with straps and buckles for closing, and another for slinging 

 on the shoulder, and containing a few sheets of stout coarse paper, is better than the 

 old-fashioned tin box (except, perhaps, for stiff prickly plants and a few others). The 

 specimens as gathered are placed between the leaves of paper, and may be crowded to- 

 gether if not left long without sorting. 



229. If the specimen brought home be not immediately determined when fresh, 

 but dried for future examination, a note should be taken of the time, place, and 

 situation in which it was gathered ; of the stature, habit, and other particulars re- 

 lating to any tree, shrub, or herb of which the specimen is only a portion ; of the 

 kind of root it has ; of the colour of the flower ; or of any other particulars which 

 the specimen itself cannot supply, or which may be lost in the process of drying. 

 These memoranda, whether taken down in the field, or from the living specimen 

 when brought home, should be written on a label attached to the specimen or pre- 

 served with it. 



230. To dry specimens, they are laid flat between several sheets of bibulous paper, 

 and subjected to pressure. The paper is subsequently changed at intervals, until they 

 are dry. 



231. In laying out the specimen, care should be taken to preserve the natural posi- 

 tion of the parts as far as consistent with the laying flat. In general, if the specimen 

 is fresh and not very slender, it may be simply laid on the lower sheet, holding it by 

 the stalk and drawing it slightly downwards ; then, as the upper sheet is laid over, if 

 it be slightly drawn downwards as it is pressed down, it will be found, after a few 

 trials, that the specimen will have retained a natural form with very little trouble. If 

 the specimen has been gathered long enough to have become flaccid, it will require 

 more care in laying the leaves flat and giving the parts their proper direction. Speci- 

 mens kept in tin boxes, will also often have taken unnatural bends which will require 

 to be corrected. 



232. If the specimen is very bushy, some branches must be thinned out, but always 

 so as to show where they have been. If any part, such as the head of a thistle, the 

 stem of an Orobanche, or the bulb of a Lily, be very thick, a portion of what is to be 

 the under side of the specimen may be sliced off. Some thick specimens may be split 

 from top to bottom before drying. 



233. If the specimen be succulent or tenacious of life, such as a Sedum or an 



