METHODS OF LABELLING TREES AND PLANTS. 163 



plant. This system is capable of indefinite expansion. If the 

 garden is so large that the letters of the alphabet are not sufficient 

 to label all the fence-posts in one direction, Roman numerals or 

 other signs may be substituted. Stakes bearing numbers can 

 be used if there are no fence-posts, or if the}' are too irregular or 

 too distant • to be used as guiding lines. By this system labels 

 may be largely done away with if so desired. 



A word about catalogues may not be out of place in a paper of 

 this nature. Where a large number of plants are likely to be 

 entered, a card catalogue is generally the most convenient, as it is 

 capable of indefinite expansion. Plants can be entered in a cata- 

 logue alphabeticalh' under the genus name, and subdivided under 

 the natural class-divisions, as ferns, roses, etc., or they may be 

 entered under a number serially as received, and this latter method 

 has many and great advantages. If it is adopted a book is best 

 suited for a catalogue. 



Pencils are the simplest and commonly the best material to mark 

 with ; but it is well to know other reliable substances with which 

 to inscribe labels or packages. Particularly is this true for trade 

 establishments. 



It is desired to call attention to the rapidity with which wooden 

 or paper labels may be printed with rubber type. Thousands of 

 labels may be neatly printed in the time occupied in writing a few 

 hundreds. This method is useful onl}^ where considerable dupli- 

 cation of names is necessary, but then it is invaluable as a means 

 of saving time. " Metal bodied rubber type," as it is called, is, 

 as its name implies, composed of rubber type, each letter separately 

 mounted on a metal block. It can be combined in any word or 

 series of words desired, in metal forms of various sizes, and is 

 used similarly to the rubber stamps in common use. A small 

 printing press is made for the use of rubber type and is a valuable 

 aid to those using it extensively. Indelible rubber stamp ink 

 is the most suitable, as the ordinarj- aniline inks will not last a great 

 while under exposure, and some of them are extremely fugitive. 



It is common to find that people are very neglectful as to the 

 kind of ink they use in the writing of even important documents. 

 Man}' of the inks in general use, particularly aniline inks, fade 

 rapidly under exposure, and will blur and run on being wet, to say 

 nothing of prolonged soaking, and few will withstand attempts to 

 eradicate them by chemical or mechanical means for dishonest 



