COLLECTING AND PRESERVING PLANTS. 271 



unsized paper between the parts of a specimen that 

 overlap each other, to prevent moulding, and hasten 

 drying. Be careful to dispose the plants so that they 

 will not lie directly above each other ; keep the top 

 of the pile as level as possible, to equalize the press- 

 ure. The number of packets interposed will depend 

 upon the juiciness of the plants, and must be left to 

 your own judgment. When plants are first put in 

 press, the papers should be changed once a day for 

 three or four days, after which every other day will 

 answer. When the drying packets are changed, 

 they should not be left lying upon the floor, but 

 should be dried upon a line stretched across the 

 room, or in the open air. 



MOUNTING OF SPECIMENS. When the plants are 

 dry, the next thing is to mount them. For this pur- 

 pose you will need 1. Strong, heavy, white paper, 

 larger than foolscap sheets 1TJ inches in length by 

 11J inches in width, is a size, on many accounts, de- 

 sirable ; 2. Corrosive sublimate, for poisoning plants, 

 to keep off insects ; 3. Glue, to fasten them upon 

 the paper. 



Dissolve about an ounce of sublimate in a quart 

 of alcohol. It should be labelled, and kept with great 

 care, as it is very poisonous. A simple way of ap- 

 plying the solution is to pour a little into a large, flat 

 platter, so as to cover the bottom, and " immerse the 

 whole specimen for a second therein." After poison- 

 ing, the specimens are to be laid between driers, and 

 subjected to slight pressure for twenty-four hours, 

 when they are ready to be fastened to the paper. 

 The flowers and tender parts of coarse, tough plants 

 are all that need poisoning. 



