136 WILD FLOWER PRESERVATION 



turn as they ripen. Blackberries, for instance, 

 are green in the first stage, crimson in the sec- 

 ond, and black in the third ; and the Withe-rod 

 has berries that are first green, then pink, and 

 finally blue. The fruit of the Jack-in-the- 

 Pulpit changes from green to the glowing scar- 

 let that lights up the dim recesses of our 

 wooded swamps in late summer and autumn; 

 while the feathery awns of the Wild Clematis 

 turn gradually from silky bunches of silvery 

 green to the hoary gray masses that have been 

 so quaintly christened "Old Man's Beard." 



All these fruiting stages should be repre- 

 sented in the herbarium, for by preserving the 

 life story of every plant you will add to the 

 beauty and interest of your collection. 



Now for a few practical words about the 

 pressing or drying of these fruits, for, as you 

 may imagine, it is not always an easy matter ! 

 Berries have an unpleasant habit of bursting, 

 or breaking away from their attachment, and 

 some are so hard and thick that pressure seems 

 out of the question. Seed-vessels, too, are 

 often as hard and awkward as the fruit inside. 

 No one rule can be laid down for the treatment 



