HERBORIZATION. 373 



curling and shrivelling, unless thus enclosed : also without these 

 sheets much time is lost in transferring small specimens one by 

 one from one drier to another in the drying process. 



780. For digging up roots, bulbs, &c., a small and sharp 

 pointed triangular Trowel or stout knife will answer. One of 

 the best "diggers'* is made from a large file. Let a black- 

 smith bend the lower half of the blade to a gentle curve, so that 

 the point will be about an inch out of the true line. Grind off 

 the teeth and re-temper the blade. The total length with 

 handle, which is over one third, should be about twelve inches. 

 A leather case may be made for convenience of carriage. The 

 advantages of this strong tool are many. 1 



781. A Note-book should be carried upon every excursion, in 

 which the station of rare plants, dates, colors, and various par- 

 ticulars which cannot be learned from the specimens, may 

 be recorded on the spot, instead of being left to uncertain 

 memory. 



782. For most plants, the best time for collecting flowering 

 specimens is in the morning, soon after the dew has disappeared. 

 Vespertine flowers have to be secured earlier, or at nightfall. 



783. Care should be taken to have the specimen of the proper 

 size, neither too small nor too large, and to comprise all that is 

 necessary for complete botanical illustration, flowers, fruit, 

 and leaves, both cauline and radical when possible. Inex- 

 perienced botanists suppose that a small sprig, containing a 

 flower or two with a few leaves, will answer all purposes as a 

 botanical specimen ; but later he comes to know better, and also 

 learns that the flower is only one of the component parts of a 

 specimen, and not always the most important one. In various 

 genera and orders, the fruit is the most distinguishing character- 

 istic, as with the Potamogetons, the Cruciferse, the Umbelliferae, 

 and the C3 r peraceae. With man}' plants the radical-leaves, with 

 others the character of the subterranean stem, whether a rootstock, 

 tuber, corm, or bulb, or of the root itself, whether annual, bien- 

 nial, or perennial, becomes important. Consequently, all the 

 organs have their value in an herbarium specimen, and each and 

 all should receive due consideration from the botanist when col- 

 lecting. Specimens may be often secured that exhibit both 



1 [There is an English herborizing trowel of excellent quality, with blade 

 six or eight inches long, less than two inches wide, the sides slightly in- 

 curved, the stout shank an inch and a quarter wide, and one sixth of an 

 inch thick : this forms the whole back of the handle, the front of which is 

 a piece of lignum vitae riveted fast to the steel. It is nearly impossible to 

 break it.] 



