66 GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF LICHENS. 



The collected material usually has clinging to it 

 various foreign substances, such as soil, leaves, twigs, 

 moss, particles of bark and decayed wood, etc. It is 

 desirable to remove these as far as possible. A little 

 experience in cleaning them will teach how this can 

 be done best and most expeditiously. Much of the soil, 

 sand, and other substances can be shaken out ; wash- 

 ing and rinsing in plenty of water will readily remove 

 dust and dirt. Leaves, moss and twigs can be picked 

 out with a pair of tweezers. Each specimen should 

 be carefully cleaned. If the specimens have been 

 washed, lay them where the water can drain off. All 

 v^ specimens should be moistened before they are pressed, 

 but it must be remembered that there should be no ex- 

 cess of water present. 



The next step in the procedure is to dry and press 

 the cleaned specimens. For this purpose, sheets of 

 blotting-paper are necessary, or, better still, the regu- 

 lation dryers used by botanists. Place one of the 

 sheets of blotting-paper or dryer on a piece of board 

 or on a table, on this place a sheet of paper (news- 

 paper will answer very well). Now take the moder- 

 ately dry specimens (they must be sufficiently moist to 

 be thoroughly soft and pliable) and arrange them as 

 you wish them to appear in the collection. If a foliose 

 lichen, of course the entire thallus is simply laid flat. 

 If fruticose, arrange the branches as artistically (natu- 

 rally) as possible. Cover the entire sheet, but do not 

 place specimens over each other. Place another sheet 

 of newspaper over the lichens, followed by one or two 

 dryers, then begin with the arrangement of another 



