

THE HERBARIUM 311 



which species are grouped or classified according to their 

 natural affinities. It is well to study more than one plant in 

 a genus whenever possible, for then close comparisons can 

 be made. 



Making a Collection. — The making of a collection of 

 plants focuses one's attention, defines one's ideas, and affords 

 material for study at any season. The collecting and pre- 

 serving of plants should be encouraged. Not until one 

 searches for himself, and collects with his own hands, can 

 he know plants. The collection should not be an end, how- 

 ever. It should be only a means of knowing plants as they 

 live and grow. Too often the pupil thinks it sufficient 

 merely to have made a collection, but the collection of itself 

 is scarcely worth the while. 



Plants are preserved by drying them under pressure. 

 The collection, when properly arranged and labeled, is an 

 herbarium. Each species should be represented by sufficient 

 specimens to display the stems, foliage, flowers, fruits. If 

 the plant is an herb, its roots should be shown. There should 

 be several or many specimens of each species, to show the 

 different forms that it assumes. It is less important to 

 have an herbarium of many species than to have one showing 

 the life-phases of a few species. First make specimens 

 of the common species: later one may include the rare ones 

 if he choose, although an herbarium that selects plants 

 merely because they are rare is of little account except as 

 a collection of curiosities. The commonest plants are usually 

 the least represented in herbaria. 



Dry the plants between blotters that arc 12 inches 

 wide and 18 inches long. These blotters are called "driers." 

 They may be purchased of dealers in botanical supplies, 

 or they can be cut from felt "carpet paper." It is well to 

 place the specimen in a folded sheet of newspaper, and 

 then lay the newspaper between the driers. If the specimens 

 are large or succulent, three or four driers should be laid 



