PRESERVING HERBARIUM PLANTS. 183 



to the botanist when travelling ; there they will remain unin- 1359. 

 jured for a day and night, supposing the box to be well rilled and 

 securely closed, to prevent evaporation. Some very succulent 

 plants, and others with fine but rigid leaves the heath and pine 

 tribe, for example require to be plunged for an instant into 

 boiling water ere they are pressed. In this case the super- 

 abundant moisture must be absorbed by a cloth or by blotting- 

 paper. 



When sufficiently dry 'the specimens should be put into dry 

 papers, one sheet or folio between each ; except they are 

 unusually woody (which is the case with oaks and pines), and 

 then more paper must be employed, care being used to distribute 

 the specimens pretty equally over the sheets, and thus a great 

 many may be safely stowed in a small compass. A slip of 

 paper should be placed with each specimen, stating its name, if 

 known, and the date and place of collection. Specimens so 

 arranged are now ready for transport, either packed in boxes or 

 covered with oilcloth. 



Mosses and cryptogamous plants may be generally dried in the 

 common way : those which grow in tufts should be separated by 

 the hand to form neat specimens. Seaweeds require a slight 

 washing in fresh water, and common blotting-paper is the best 

 for removing the moisture from this tribe of plants. 



It is almost needless to add that all plants, whether living or 

 dried, ought to be transmitted to Europe with the least possible 

 delay ; the latter, especially in hot or moist climates, are often 

 soon destroyed by the depredations of insects. 



