102 WILD FLOWER PRESERVATION 



with associations and sunny memories. Some 

 people 's Floras seem dedicated to indoor study 

 only, and when such students pore over them 

 it is with frowning brows and rumpled hair! 

 The books, too, are stained with ink and they 

 smell fusty. Now, if a Flora is stained at all, 

 it ought to be with green juice and pollen dust 

 and not with anything so prosaic as ink! 



If you love Nature you will spend every pos- 

 sible moment in her presence; and on still, 

 warm days both identification and pressing can 

 be done in the fields. An extra stock of dry- 

 ing-paper should be strapped with the Flora 

 and paint-brush to the side of the press, and 

 the scissors and magnifying-glass can go in the 

 basket. When the press contains plants that 

 are dry enough for mounting, these should be 

 removed before starting for another flower- 

 hunting expedition. 



For obvious reasons, plants will most fre- 

 quently have to be identified indoors. If you 

 use a collecting case, they will, if sprinkled 

 with a little water, keep fresh in it for several 

 hours or even a day or two. But if brought 

 in a basket, they should be placed in jars of 



